My 18th Birthday
by boobookeys
Summary: Introducing Alesha Haynes, senior at Cerulean Heights. Her birthday has arrived and she will be receiving the biggest birthday present that she could never imagine. Find out what it is now! R&R!
1. Into the Book, Onto the Train

Disclaimer: Whatever you recognize, I do not own. (:

* * *

My 18th Birthday

_By boobookeys_

**Chapter 1: Into the Book, Onto the Train**

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"5, 6, 7, 8, 1!" Alesha Haynes counted as the Panthers began their final run-through of their cheer.

o0o

Profile

Name: Alesha Haynes

Birthdate: 1 September 1990

Parents: Ian Haynes and Mikaela Theodore

Hair Colour: Platinum blonde

Eye Colour: Blue

Education: Senior in Cerulean Heights

o0o

"Go panthers!" voices echoed throughout the gymnasium as the cheer concluded. Alesha beamed, satisfied at her accomplishment.

"Alright everyone, we're going to trash East Shore next week! You guys are free to go!" Alesha said, grabbing her towel and wiping her sweat away.

"Come on Alesha, have a break! It's your B-day today, don't you think you should have at least a _little_ fun?" Alesha's BFF, Ellen, walked towards her.

"I.D.T.S, the cheer competition is next week and slacking off is just unacceptable!" Alesha responded. "Anyway, I'm sure my B-Day can wait for another few days! It's not a big deal, really."

"No big deal?! Alesha, my _dear_ Alesha, you're 18! " Ellen said disbelievingly. "Plus, you're head cheerleader! Do you think people will not take notice of your B.D.? I'm sure even your parents will make a big deal out of today, they'll most probably even give back your car! Seriously, sometimes I just do not know what goes on in your head!"

"ALSO, you do NOT have a boyfriend! Tell me, how many head cheerleaders in this universe do not have boyfriends? Wait, I'll answer that – only one! YOU!"

Alesha smiled, "Aw, I love you too! I've got to go now, I think our cheer could use a bit of touch up…"

"No, seriously?" Ellen rolled her eyes at her friend. She never gives herself a break!

"Okay, T.T.Y.L.!" Alesha said, blowing kisses before exiting the gymnasium ("Happy birthday, 'Lesha!" and making her way back home.

o0o

"Mum, I'm home!" Alesha shouted to the kitchen, chucking her bags onto the couch. Stepping into the kitchen, she stopped in her tracks and raised an eyebrow. Not here, that's strange.

"Up here, honey! In the attic!" Mrs. Haynes called, followed by a loud thud.

"Mum, what _are_ you doing?" Alesha asked, climbing the ladder and sticking her head into the attic. The place was oddly spotless, with several opened boxes on the floor. In the middle of all of them, sat Mrs. Haynes.

She looked up at her daughter and smiled. "Firstly, happy 18th birthday, Al'! Your father's going to give you your present tonight. I think you might find it quite familiar."

"My car?" Alesha squealed, eyes lighting up at the thought of getting her car back. Her parents have taken it away a few months ago to teach her "responsibility". She had to get a lift from friends to get anywhere since then! Highly inconvenient.

"Maybe." Mrs. Haynes answered, with a twinkle in her eye. "Anyway, look, it's all the old stuff! I've been here cleaning up since a few hours ago. I nearly forgot about all of these things, they sure jolted some memories from the past." Mrs. Haynes said dreamily as her continued to look through the things in the boxes. "Why don't you take a look? There are some really interesting things lying around."

Alesha lifted herself from the ladder into the small room and started walking around, stopping here and there to look at a few things. Then, something caught her eye.

She picked up an old book from one of the boxes, and ran her fingers across the words across the cover. "To never forget the days…" Alesha mumbled, furrowing her eyebrows. To never forget the days? What does that mean?

Alesha opened the cover delicately and soon enough, she saw a bright light and everything went ablur.

o0o

A loud thud was the sound of Alesha's "wake up call" as she slowly opened her eyes. Rumbles could be heard and she knew that she wasn't on solid ground - she was in a train cabin!

"Damn, where am I?" Alesha asked herself, panicking. She started inspecting the cabin, and opened the compartment, seeing her luggages packed nicely inside. Did her mum knock her out and put her on some trip to somewhere or something? Those luggages could easily pack her whole closet!

The compartment door slid open and Alesha immediately turned to look at the person at the door, hoping it was her mother to explain what the hell was going on. But no, it wasn't her mother.

_It was bloody Tom Felton._

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A/N: Hello! :D Short start to the story, 'cause I wanted to know how you guys thought of it first. Anyway, thanks for being able to read until this part of the page, I really appreciate it! But I would appreciate it even more if you clicked on that tiny "Go" button at the bottom left hand corner and reviewed! (: Tell me if I should continue this story, what I can improve on if I do, or whether I should just stop my fingers from typing and posting stories. If you do, thanks a bunch!


	2. Meeting the Celebs

Disclaimer: Whatever you recognize, I do not own. (:

A/N: Okay, so I've suddenly realized that I have forgotten LOTS of things from the Harry Potter books because I have not read them in more than a year. So, if some things aren't the same, or don't go with the books, please excuse them, because I won't be exactly following the books in this story. Thank you! (:

* * *

My 18th Birthday

_By boobookeys_

**Chapter 2: Meeting the Celebs**

* * *

_The compartment door slid open and Alesha immediately turned to look at the person at the door, hoping it was her mother to explain what the hell was going on. But no, it wasn't her mother._

_It was bloody Tom Felton._

o0o

Alesha's eyes widened as she saw, in front of her, the ever-so-gorgeous Tom Felton. Looking so calm, so sleek, so cool, so awesome, and so darn _good-looking_.

"Ew! Who is this piece of filth, Drakie?!" an annoyingly high-pitched voice said (rather loudly).

"Do you want us to remove her, Malfoy?" Alesha heard another voice say. This time, it was a very low voice, most probably a guy. But dear Mr. Felton didn't respond to any of those queries, and just stood there, hands in the pockets of his robes, looking at her indifferently with his eyebrows raised. Hold on, he seems to be looking at...

Alesha looked down at her body and to her horror - she was still dressed in her cheerleading uniform! She noticed what the people at the door of the compartment were wearing and cursed herself inwardly. Now, there was nothing wrong with her cheerleading uniform – Alesha loved it! – but in this case, not so much. The white and turquoise uniform consisted of two pieces: a half-top and a _mini_ mini skirt. And if you count the special silver cheerleader underwear beneath, then it's 4 pieces. Clad in this uniform, her whole midriff was exposed and so were most of her legs. Definitely not what she would wear when meeting the gorgeous Tom Felton. Especially when he and his friends wear all wearing similar modest school uniforms, complete with robes.

"Shit!" Alesha cursed softly, mentally beating herself up.

"Who are you, _weirdo_? _Drakie and_ _I_ do not entertain such lowly people like you!" The girl with the high-pitched voice said.

"Drakie?" Alesha asked slowly, horrified. "You mean like, _Draco Malfoy_?" She finally realized what was going on.

"Who else, you lowly scum? Don't tell me you don't know him." The girl continued, glaring at Alesha. However, Alesha was too horror-struck to pay any attention to her.

"Ohmyfreakinggosh." Alesha said to herself, body shaking.

"I'M IN A BLOODY BOOK!?" She screamed, releasing all her panic through that statement. Subsequently, she quickly gathered herself and prepared to leave that fantasy place that she assumed was the _Hogwarts Express_. However, she didn't make it far out - just to the door. Tom Felton (or _Draco Malfoy_) was blocking her way.

"Excuse me, Mr.…Malfoy." Alesha said hurriedly, eye twitching at the same time ("I can't believe I just said that!" she thought).

"I don't think so." Malfoy stated, as if it were an order. Damnit, how could he be so calm at a time like this?!

"So sorry, my dear gorgeous Tom Felton, desperate times call for desperate measures." Alesha thought to herself before doing the one thing girls knew best.

She screamed.

o0o

"What the-" Malfoy said, getting the shock of his life. In no time, three students appeared behind Malfoy and his crew, just as Alesha hoped.

"Why are all these blood-traitors coming here?!" the annoying girl complained.

"Shut it, Parkinson. It's bad enough we can SEE you, yet HEAR you. What are you doing now, ferret? Harassing girls?" A redhead boy spoke. "Who is the poor victim this time?"

It was Rupert Grint! Alesha wanted to scream and jump around in excitement at that point. Even more so when she saw Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson by his side. That day could be the best and worst birthday she has ever had. At any rate, Rupert obviously did not like Tom Felton or his cronies one bit. Perfect.

Alesha knew it was her cue and pushed her away through Draco and co., sticking out her hand to the redhead boy. "Alesha Haynes, thank you so much for, uh, saving me!" She didn't get a response, however. The three students who just appeared were just as intrigued (if she can put it that way) by her clothes. Moments later, one of Alesha's saviors, a girl, came to her senses.

"I'm Hermione Granger, nice to meet you! This is Ron Weasley," Hermione introduced, shaking Alesha's hand and pointing to the redhead. "And this is, of course, Harry Potter." She said, pointing to the brown-haired boy at the side.

"Let's not stick around, we are blocking people's way. Let Alesha past, ferret." Harry said. I then followed the three of them into another compartment, away from Tom Felton and friends. While walking away, I glanced back to notice Malfoy staring at me.

"Oh gosh, he's so handsome!" Alesha thought dreamily. Being the star-struck teenager (or half-adult) Alesha was, she smiled warmly to him and waved goodbye. Malfoy then chortled and entered his compartment.

"How dumb can you make yourself seem like, Alesha?!" Alesha thought after that, slapping herself across the forehead.

o0o

When Alesha and the Trio settled into the compartment, Alesha finally popped the question she needed answered.

"Am I dreaming?" The three glanced at one another, confused.

"Why would you ask that?" Harry asked. Knowing better, Alesha stopped herself before rambling about what happened to her. She did not think it was wise to tell anyone about her situation, yet. But she knew who she could confide in.

"Never mind. Will I be able to talk to Dumble-" Alesha paused. Darn, she forgot the headmaster's name! Alesha was never really a fan of the Harry Potter books, so she did not know a lot of things about anything related to it. She only watched the movies, and even so, she couldn't really remember much.

"Dumbledore? Oh, we're not exactly sure. No student really talks to him, you know? We only talk to him when we're invited to his office for some reason." Ron replied. "But maybe you can ask McGonagall when we reach Hogwarts, she'll be with the first years."

"Oh, alright, thanks. Just wondering, How old are all of you?" Alesha asked.

"We're all 15, fifth year in Hogwarts. You're a new student, aren't you? I've never seen you around before." Harry said.

"Yeah, and you rarely see anyone in Hogwarts wearing what you're wearing now, no offence." Ron continued.

"It's a cheerleading outfit, Ronald. Muggle cheerleaders wear them." Hermione looked at Ron pointedly. "It is quite common, every Muggle school has a cheerleading squad who has a unique uniform."

Following that, before Ron could respond, the compartment door opened and there stood a girl, with similar red hair as Ron.

"Hey guys! The train-" The girl stopped talking, noticing Alesha's presence. There we go again, what's wrong with the cheer outfit?! "Oh hello, I'm afraid we have not met. I'm Ginny Weasley." Ginny smiled, shaking Alesha's hand. "Interesting outfit, by the way! Anyhow, I just came by to tell you guys that the train's reaching Hogwarts in around an hour and a half. Bye now!"

After a moment's silence, Alesha finally decided to break the ice.

"So, tell me about Hogwarts."

o0o

For the rest of the train ride, Harry, Ron and Hermione told Alesha everything she needed to know about Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. From the teachers, to the students, to the rules, to the building itself. And lastly, the houses.

"So in summary, Slytherin is sly and evil, Hufflepuff is fair, Ravenclaw is smart, and Gryffindor is brave and the awesome-est?" Alesha recited, counting the points using her fingers.

"Exactly! And because you are most probably going to be sorted later, I trust that you won't join the evil gits in Slytherin. I approve any house but that one!" Ron exclaimed, and continued talking about the houses.

At that juncture, the train came to a halt and shuffling of feet could already be heard outside the compartment. "Let's go!" Harry, Ron and Hermione joined the people outside and started making their way out of the train, expecting Alesha to follow them. On the other hand, Alesha stayed behind and calmed her nerves, which started to form.

"Okay, Alesha, you can do this! Just imagine all this is fake and you're in a really bizarre dream." She reassured herself, letting out a deep breath. What worried her as well was that she was going to have to go out there in her cheerleading outfit. Great. She wanted to go out unnoticed and nothing was helping her at that time.

"Hey." A voice said, out of the blue. Alesha gasped and looked to see who it was who interrupted her thoughts. It was Draco Malfoy! (:D) He took off his robes and tossed it to Alesha.

"Wear it." He said coolly, before disappearing outside the compartment. Although surprised, Alesha thanked Malfoy's retreating back and threw the robe on. She then rushed out of the compartment and followed the sea of students out of the train.

What a birthday.

* * *

A/N: Hello again! I don't really like how I wrote this chapter. I think there's no flow, you know? :\ Oh well. Please review! Tell me what you think of this chapter. (: Should I continue, or should I stop? Am I awesome at writing (:D), or do I suck eggs at it? So many questions, so YOU should answer them! Go go go ! (x


	3. First Experience at Hogwarts

Disclaimer: Whatever you recognize, I do not own. (:

A/N: Remember! I'm not following the books in this story. So that means Ron and Hermione aren't prefects and neither is Draco. (:

* * *

My 18th Birthday

By boobookeys

Chapter 3: First Experience at Hogwarts

* * *

_"Wear it." He said coolly, before disappearing outside the compartment. Although surprised, Alesha thanked Malfoy's retreating back and threw the robe on. She then rushed out of the compartment and followed the sea of students out of the train._

_What a birthday._

o0o

**Alesha's POV**

I got down the carriage with Harry, Ron and Hermione (whom I managed to catch up with), marveled at the sight before me. Hogwarts was looked even more awesome in reality than in the movies! We walked with hundreds of other students into the entrance hall and my jaw almost literally dropped. The place was ten times larger than what it looks like from the outside, and everything looked extremely grand.

"Ms. Haynes!" a stern voice called out from the doors of the Great Hall. I looked up and tiptoed to see who it was in the midst of all the other students, and saw that it was none other than Professor McGonagall, who was the Headmistress of Hogwarts (as the Trio told me). I waved goodbye to the Trio and pushed my way through the crowd, finding myself in front of the surprisingly tall woman.

"Ms. Haynes, I suppose? Come, follow me, Professor Dumbledore would like a word with you." She said, immediately walking off in another direction. "Hurry up, there is no time to lose! I still have to tend to the First Years when they arrive."

It seemed like an eternity until we arrived at a deserted corridor, in front of a statue of a gargoyle.

"Acid pops," McGonagall said, almost hesitantly. I presumed it was the password to Dumbledore's office and grinned at the childishness of it all. The gargoyle magically came to life and it started elevating, enabling stairs to appear from below it. "Go on," McGonagall prompted, before I nervously stepped onto the moving flight of stairs. This was all too weird, all this magic. I glanced back at McGonagall and realized she was already gone, and thus paid attention to where the stairs was taking me.

Once the stairs stopped moving, I found myself stepping into an amazingly large room. Shelves covered the walls, with probably a million books neatly arranged in them. I looked around and spotted a phoenix next to a desk, in the middle of the room. I never took my eyes off it as I walked to the stand that it was perched upon. I remember seeing it, in the second Harry Potter movie. Fawkes, was that its name? I stretched my hand out and stroked its feathers, smiling serenely. It was almost as if touching it made me feel like all was right at that time.

"Ms Haynes?" a voice slowly said. I turned and stared at the man before me. Dumbledore wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. He was wearing long midnight blue robes that swept the ground and seemed to emit a sense of authority, despite the kind and welcoming look he had.

I nodded my head and he glided to his desk, sitting down, while urging me to do the same. He took out his wand and just after a small flick, a chair appeared in front of the desk. My eyes widened as magic was done right before my eyes.

"It is just a simple conjuring spell. You could probably do it too." Dumbledore said, eyeing me. I took a seat and waiting for him to say something.

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards. Alesha Haynes, are you not?" He said, smiling. I blushed - my name was measly compared to his, it was quite embarrassing really.

"Yes, um, do you mind telling me why I am here? 'Cause you know, I don't actually come from here and all," I blurted out. "One moment I was looking at a book of some sort, and the next moment I was on the Hogwarts Express! And now I'm here. Is there any way that I can go back home?"

"Well, Ms. Haynes, I cannot tell you exactly why you are here, because to put it simply, I do not know myself." Dumbledore started. "A book you say? That's very strange indeed. However, until we find out how, I do not think you will be able to go back to where you came from."

"But what about my family? My whole life! My life back in the real world!" I exclaimed, hopes of going back shattered as I heard what Dumbledore had said.

"I'm afraid I do not know, Ms. Haynes. But I'm absolutely positive that you being here will not cause any disturbance back where you came from. Also, before I say anything else, I think you should know that you, now, are 15 years of age."

"15?!" I said in disbelief. "But I'm 18!"

"Yes, but I'm afraid that the travel to this world has made your body result in some changes by going back a few years, 3, to be exact." I stared at him as I tried to process everything.

"So, if I have to stay in this magic place, then I'll have to learn magic as well? I don't know any magic!"

"Ah, I think you do, Alesha. Just by the fact that you can actually see Hogwarts, see your surroundings and see me, proves that you are, indeed, a witch. Yes, you may not have used magic before, but that doesn't mean you can't." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as I felt extremely confused.

"Now, why don't we test out your magic then?" He continued. "I want you to concentrate. You may want to, let's see, maybe make something appear? A chair, most probably?"

"Don't I need a wand or something?" I asked, trying to evade doing this. All this was weirding me out! Me, a witch? Yeah, right. I knew I wasn't, but yet, I didn't want to prove it either. I then noticed Dumbledore's smile grow even wider.

"Alesha, you are no ordinary witch, or so I believe. I believe that you can use magic, yes, but you don't need a wand. All you need, is your mind. Which is why I hope you will co-operate in this little test to confirm this."

After moments of contemplation, I decided that no harm could be done in this, and nodded my head. I searched the room and finally, stared intently at an empty space on the wooden floor. A chair. Cushioned, big, blue and comfy. Then, a soft 'Pop!' sound could be heard and a chair, as I imagined it, appeared at the empty spot. Just like magic.

My mouth opened in an 'o', as I stared at the chair in awe. I made that appear. By myself. With magic! Dumbledore smiled at me calmly. He knew I could do it from the start, he only made me do it to convince me, not him.

"Now, you shall enroll here to Hogwarts, and you will need supplies such as books and school robes." He began. "On the other hand, I see you already have a school robe."

I looked down and remembered I had Draco's robe on.

"I presume that you will be returning that to Mr. Malfoy (how did he know it was Draco's?), but no matter, no matter. Your school supplies will be provided, you will see them in your dormitory later, along with your own belongings. Also, I believe we should get you a wand. We won't want to cause commotion amongst the students if they find out about your special skill, will we? A wand will be provided as well, I don't see the need to go to Diagon Alley to get a wand if you possess that special skill."

"Don't I need money?" I asked, wondering how I could possibly live without even a single cent, or Knut. Or whatever it is called here!

"I believe Hogwarts has some funds which can provide you with some. That too, you can find in your dormitory later. Anyhow, I think we should get you sorted now, no? Minerva has the Sorting Hat at the moment, so we will do the sorting differently." Differently? Maybe I have to go through some grand ritual or something. I waited anxiously as he told me how I was going to be sorted.

"Which house would you like to be in, then?" Dumbledore asked simply, eyes twinkling once again. I nearly fell off my chair as I heard that question.

"You're going to let me choose?" I said incredulously.

"I think you will make the right decision."

"Oh," I thought about what the Trio said about the houses and supposed it was the right choice. "Gryffindor?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Alright then, Alesha. You are now in Gryffindor. I suppose the Welcoming Feast has started, off you go then. If you aren't sure of how to get there, ask the paintings, they are rather friendly."

I bid him goodbye and turned back to walk out of the office.

"Oh, and Alesha?" Dumbledore said at the last second. I turned around and looked at him. "Everything is up for you to decide from now on." He continued with a small smile, before disappearing behind a door at the back of his office. With absolutely no clue of what he was talking about, I started to make my way to the Great Hall.

o0o

I got to sneak into the Great Hall without anyone noticing (or at least, not many), and joined the Trio for the feast. I sat next to Harry, across from Hermione and Ron. I looked to the front of the Great Hall and noticed Dumbledore was already seated. The man sure knows how to move fast. I concentrated on what was before me and boy, the movie really wasn't exaggerating with all the food. Every inch of the four (or five, if you include the teachers' table) long tables in the hall was covered with food, with students tackling it like savages.

"Sho wha di Dumblefore shay?" Ron said, in between mouthfuls of chicken.

"I got sorted, and got into Gryffindor," I replied happily, my answer as vague as possible. I wasn't sure whether I should tell them about my situation.

"Hey!" Ron suddenly shouted, pointing a drumstick at me. I looked at him, as if saying 'What?'. "Why are you wearing Slytherin robes?!"

Surrounding Gryffindors turned to look at us after that exclamation, and Hermione hit Ron at the arm ("Stop causing a commotion!"). After Hermione managed to get everyone back in their own business, she looked at me expectantly, also wanting to know the answer. I couldn't tell them it was Draco's robes - they'd fume!

"Uh, Dumbledore gave them to me. They're spares." I quickly thought up of an excuse. However, the Trio wasn't convinced.

"But you already had them on when we were on the carriage," Harry said, eyebrow raising. Ron and Hermione following suit and as much as I tried, I couldn't think up of another excuse. They got me!

"Fine! They are Dra-Malfoy's." I surrended. Another exclamation came my way, this time from both Ron and Harry, which caused them another hit on the arm by Hermione.

"Why do you have Malfoy's robe?!" Ron spat, using an exceptionally disgusted tone of voice when saying 'Malfoy'. I told them that I wanted a robe to not get too much attention with my 'Muggle clothes' and asked him if I could borrow his. Plus, they were already gone so I couldn't ask for any of theirs. It was half-true, I guess. A white lie couldn't hurt anyone, right?

Apparently, the Trio accepted my answer and we started talking about our holidays. While listening to Hermione talk about her's in Egypt, I scanned the food on the table for something I could eat. Being a cheerleader since my junior year, it became a habit to be picky with food. I finally decided on some salad and mashed potatoes and dug right in.

Half an hour later, the food disappeared and dessert was served. Excitement filled the hall as the new selection of food popped out of nowhere. I was forced by Hermione to eat the crème brûlée, which I did (it was absolutely delicious!). That was going to cost me a two mile jog the next day, maybe three. After we all had our fill, the clanking of a wine glass could be heard from the teachers' table.

"Attention! Attention everyone." McGonagall started.

"I hope you've had your fillings." Dumbledore then stood up and announced. "All of you will now follow the Prefects of your houses to your respective Common Rooms. I wish you have a good night's sleep, and may I inform you that lessons begin tomorrow. Your timetables will be given at breakfast. Off you go!"

Groans resounded in the hall as the word 'lessons' was said, and everyone stood up and made their way to their Common Rooms.

o0o

The rest of the day went pretty well. I met most of the people in Gryffindor, and I must say they are one friendly bunch. Fred and George Weasley even held a party for all the newcomers, sneaking in butterbeer and other snacks for everyone to enjoy. Even after having the huge Welcoming Feast, everyone enjoyed themselves that night. To keep my situation a secret, I made up a few lies about myself. So, here are a few points on who I am:

1) I'm half-blood; dad's a wizard, mum's a muggle. Both have passed away in an accident.  
2) I only enrolled in Hogwarts this year due to my parents' death, and before, my mum refused to let me leave home.  
3) I went to muggle school before coming to Hogwarts, which explained my cheerleader uniform.  
4) My dad taught me a few things about magic before so that I won't be totally clueless when I came to Hogwarts. (But actually, I AM quite clueless.)

I went back to my dormitory before anyone did to unpack my things in peace. I was sharing the dormitory with Hermione, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. I went to shower and got into a decent set of clothes to go to bed in (shorts and a tank top never fails me!). As for Draco's robe, I put it aside with my cheer uniform (Ron said the house elves will get our dirty clothes clean by morning).

I then started unpacking my luggage and kept the things that Dumbledore provided. I still had most of the things I owned back in the real world, to my surprise. Even my car was in the luggage! It was shrunk to miniature size of course, but I wasn't sure whether it could work in the 'magical' world. Hermione told me the magic in the air prevented anything electrical to work here.

Anyhow, I took out my iPod to see if it could work. It couldn't. "Darn, come on, I spent dollars on you! Turn on!" I demanded, still trying to turn it on. To my surprise, the iPod lit up and started working. Did it turn on because I told it to? I wonder…

Just then, the door of the dorm opened and Hermione, Lavender and Parvati came in. I quickly hid my iPod under my pillow and continued packing my other things. After chatting with my dorm mates for awhile, I slipped underneath the covers and drew the curtains, listening to my iPod and felt my eyelids drooping as I slowly fell into a deep slumber.

Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow to find out this is all just a dream. A very long, very confusing dream. And I'll be able to go back to Cerulean Heights and laugh it all off with Ellen. Maybe.

o0o

But of course, life had to be mean and I was still in Hogwarts the next day.

The alarm that I had set on my iPod rang at 5.30a.m., waking me up as loud music blasted in my ears. Why was I up at 5.30a.m., you may ask? Well, if you do remember, I promised myself a three mile jog yesterday. I really regretted it, but a cheerleader's promise to exercise is never broken!

Thus, I dragged myself to the bathroom and freshened myself up, slipping into a pair of track pants and a clean tank top. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and winced at my hair. What a disaster! I imagined a simple ponytail and with a "Pop!", I had the hairstyle just as I wanted it. I'm really getting used to this magic thing!

I then went out of the dorm quietly, making sure that no one knew where I was going (5.30a.m. wasn't exactly the time that I would like to converse to anyone). I wandered around the school, trying to find out where the field (or Quidditch pitch) was. Most of the people in the paintings were still asleep, and so I didn't think it was wise to disturb any of them.

Finally, after 10 minutes of walking around, I found myself outside the Entrance Hall, walking towards the Quidditch pitch. It was certainly bigger than the field back in Cerulean heights, I thought. 10 rounds should do it.

I was already sweating like mad during my sixth round. My shirt was soaking with perspiration, and so I took it off and tossed it aside (don't worry, I was wearing a sports bra!). While jogging on the side of the pitch that was closest to the building, I spotted someone looking over from there. I shook the distraction out of my head and continued with the rest of my jog. Probably a hallucination. I collapsed after finishing my tenth round, laying on the grass in the pitch. How dirty.

"How dirty," a voice mimicked my thoughts. I recognized that voice – it was Draco Malfoy's. I stiffened. Does he always have to be there when I look like…crap?! He was probably the person I saw before.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, not making a move to look at him. I could almost picture him with a smirk as he kept quiet after that.

"I like to have some alone time, away from the other idiots back in the Common Room," he replied calmly.

I felt him take a seat on the grass next to me, and I sat up, brushing my hair to make sure no grass was stuck in there. Still, I didn't turn to look at him, and stared at the sky in the horizons. The sun was starting to rise, so it was probably around 6.30a.m.

"Do you come here often?" I asked, twiddling with the grass at the area between him and I.

"Sometimes. Good place to think, especially in the morning, before everyone wakes up." I laughed after hearing him say this. I turned to look at him at last and scrutinized his face. He had a pale, pointed face, sleek platinum blond hair, and light grey eyes. Strangely, he and I looked quite alike, though not to the point where it was seemingly obvious.

"Sorry, it's just that. Compared to what I heard about you, you're completely normal. Nice, even." I said, excusing my sudden laughter. "Aren't you supposed to be the King of Slytherin - almighty, mean, and arrogant?"

Draco looked at me and shrugged his shoulders. I smiled.

"Okay, I guess I'll go back to my dorm, before anyone sees me with you. It may cause quite a stir. King of Slytherin, Draco Malfoy, sneaking around with new Gryffindor girl!" I said. "Gossipers will have a whirl of a time." I stood up and brushed the grass off me, Draco doing the same.

"Bye then."

But not before a few steps, Draco grabbed my arm and pulled my sweaty body against his. I let out a gasp as every inch of our bodies touched.

"You forgot your shirt," he murmured the random sentence into my ear, smirking, before letting go of my arm and walking off. Even then, I froze in place due to the shock. Was he hittingon me? Or just playing around? I shook my head and pushed that thought to the back of my mind. Just being a Malfoy, I guess. I heard from Lavender and Parvati that Draco was quite a player, and a ladies' man (for most ladies, I guess). I quickly went to pick my shirt up and returned to the dormitory.

o0o

"Where have you been!" Hermione exclaimed as I walked into the dorm. "I was so worried! Come on, go wash up, you look terrible! Did you go for a jog? Nevermind, go on! First day of lessons – I can't wait! Wonder what our timetables will be like…" She rambled on breathlessly as I went to take a shower. "Pop!", I heard the soft sound once again. I grinned in accomplishment as I looked at myself, fully dressed in uniform and hair nicely braided to the side, in the mirror. Awesome!

"Alesha, hurry up! Harry and Ron are downstairs already!" Hermione shouted from outside. I rushed out of the bathroom, grabbed my robes and went downstairs with Hermione where we met Harry and Ron. The three of us made our way to the Great Hall and once again, a breakfast buffet was laid out. Not many students were there yet as it was only around 7.10a.m. I looked over to the Slytherin table and saw Draco already seated, with Pansy Parkinson clinging onto him even as he ate. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle sat close by, stuffing food into their mouths. Draco and I locked eyes for a second, before I looked away and took a seat with the Trio. Pouring myself a cup of tea, Professor McGonagall walked swiftly towards us, handing us our timetables.

"Wicked! Harry and I got free periods till 9.30!" Ron said, extremely thrilled, while comparing his and Harry's timetables.

"Then it's Charms with Hufflepuffs, Transfiguration with Ravenclaws and Herbology with Hufflepuffs again…followed by lunch. Mine and Ron's are the same! What do you two have?" Harry continued, leaning over to Ron to compare their timetables as well.

Hermione handed over her timetable to him and said, "Almost similar to yours, except for the free periods – I have Arithmancy. How about you, 'Lesha?"

"Same as Harry and Ron, except I have Potions with Slytherins instead of free periods." I responded, handing over my timetable to Ron and Harry as well.

"Urgh, I pity you, Alesha. Snape andMalfoy at the start of the day? First day, in fact!" Ron said, grabbing another pancake from the platter in front of him, it was probably his fifth one already! I'm surprised he still can remain the same size as Harry. I opened my mouth to reply, but before I could say anything, Draco walked over with Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle behind him, and beat me to a response.

"Better than being with a Mudblood and two blood traitors." Draco spat, using a totally different tone of voice then when I spoke to him that morning. "Glad to know that I'm not seeing any of you three scums at the start of the day." With that, he sauntered out of the Great Hall. However, he stopped suddenly.

"And Haynes, I still expect my robe to be returned." He said, before making his way outside the Great Hall. Ron took out his wand and got ready to curse him mercilessly, before Hermione snatched his wand away and forced him to take his seat.

"Can't he just drop dead for once! Let the world be a better place!" Ron complained, stabbing his pancakes as if it was Draco. Hermione, Harry and I let out a laugh as we enjoyed the rest of our breakfast.

o0o

At 7.35a.m., Hermione and I said goodbye to Harry and Ron and went back to our dormitory to get things for our lessons. I grabbed Draco's robe and stuffed it into my bag before following Hermione out of the Common Room, trying to remember her directions to the dungeons, where Potions was held. We went our separate ways and I rushed off to my destination, wanting to take a good look at the place first.

Reaching the dungeons, I almost regretted going in early, even if it was only a few minutes. The place was dark, smelly and completely different from the rest of the places that I've seen in Hogwarts. There were several tables for two, neatly arranged in straight rows with cauldrons next to them. I spotted Draco sitting at the front of the class with a good-looking black boy, whom I supposed was Blaise Zabini, one of Draco's closer friends. Crabbe and Goyle were sitting together, and Pansy with a girl called Millicent Bulstrode (Hermione told me she didn't like her very much). A few other Slytherins and several Gryffindors were also already seated. I then spotted Neville Longbottom, sitting nervously by himself, flipping through the Potions textbook. I was on good terms with Neville, I got to know him at the party in the Common Room the day before.

"May I sit here?" I asked, after walking to his table. He looked at me and nodded, before returning to his textbook. He looked extremely nervous, and it kind of worried me a bit. "Is anything wrong?" I asked.

"Hermione isn't in this class, is she? I'm doomed! I will never pass this class without her! She's the one who always saves me from failing!" Neville bursted, clutching his hair.

"It can't be that bad, can it?" I tried to assure him, but to no avail as he attempted to cram his notes into his brain. "Don't worry, Neville. I'll try to help, okay? Just take a deep breath and calm down." That seemed to do the trick. Neville turned to look at me and let out a deep breath, smiling gratefully after doing so.

"Everyone take your seats," Snape's voice resounded as he slammed the door of the room shut. "Mr. Finnigan, if you fail to obey the rules of my class and stop stuffing food down your throat, you will be removed. 50 points from Gryffindor." I sat in shock at Snape's ruthlessness towards Gryffindors. That was just too mean! And unreasonable.

"Today we will be making the Draught of Peace," Snape drawled on. "You will be working alone for this potion, as it is particularly simple. Instructions on the board, I expect nothing short of spectacular in this class, except for maybe, Longbottom." A few Slytherins sniggered at that point, as Neville slid down his seat.

"Unfortunately, this year you will not be sitting or working with a partner of your choice in my class." Snape continued. "A list has been given out to all the teachers, and you will be sitting with your allocated partner for the rest of the semester. You will be required to work together in the case of extremely difficult potions. There will be no changes." I heard Neville groan softly and I patted him on the back. I had a feeling none of the students in the class will be very happy with their partners.

"Ms. Bulstrode, with Patil."

"Mr. Crabbe, with Finnigan."

I saw the pattern immediately, and so did everyone else. Gryffindor with a Slytherin, great. I held my two hands together and hoped I would be partnered with someone nice (Draco!).

"Mr. Malfoy," Snape said, as I looked up and waited to see who his partner was going to be. Draco looked up as well, turned back, and glanced at me. Please be me, please be me… I chanted in my mind.

"Please make your way to Longbottom's table at the back."

I instantly turned to look at Neville – his eyes widened and his face turned pale as he heard who he was partnered with. I took a look at Draco, who was scowling. He, too, was disappointed at the choice of his partner. But he looked more appalled than afraid. He hesitantly stood up and sauntered his way over to me and Neville. I packed my things and Neville looked at me nervously, as if telling me not to go.

"It'll be alright," I whispered, patting his back to reassure him. Someone coughed roughly from behind me and I turned around. "Sorry," I apologized, moving away from the table to let Draco take his seat. I looked around the classroom to see who was left as Snape continued reading out the list of partners.

"And finally, Haynes, with Mr. Zabini. Take a seat at the table in front of Longbottom."

I sat down at the table (making sure that I'm in front of Neville so he can ask for help at anytime) and eyed Blaise Zabini as he walked over. I never saw him anywhere, so I really had no idea how he was like. Most probably mean, just like most of the Slytherins. Before he took a seat, however, he gave me a small smile and it lifted my spirits a little. At least he's a bit nice, I thought. Draco coughed again from behind and glared at Blaise. All he got back was a smirk and Blaise turned his back on Draco, sitting down next to me.

"You have until the end of the hour to successfully complete this potion, I will be back by then. You may begin." Snape announced, before making his way out of the classroom.

o0o

After 45 minutes, my potion was turning out alright, and I was just waiting for it to simmer. Making it was relatively easy for me, as I found it oddly similar to cooking, which was one of my favorite past times (other than cheerleading). However, behind me, Neville went wrong at one point, and his potion smelled like the poop of some animal and the stench was becoming worse by the minute.

"Bloody hell, Longbottom, can't you do anything right?" Draco cursed, redoing the spell that he has done to block out the stench from his nose. He had already finished with his potion, and was leaning on the back two legs of his chair, feet on the table. Neville fumbled with his ingredients anxiously and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Draco completing his potion is possibly making him even more nervous. I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to think of what went wrong with his potion so that I could help him - I promised him that I would! I compared my potion with his and finally realized what went wrong with his potion.

"Neville," I whispered, turning back. Neville looked at me hopefully, wanting to make his potion right before Snape came back. "Did you add the hellebore syrup?" Neville then realized his mistake and rushed to the shelves to get his missing ingredient. "You only need to get a small amount of syrup, too much will make the potion smoke up. Use the knife and press down on the hellebore so that you can get the liquid, careful not to touch it for too long, it's poisonous." I instructed him, looking at the door of the room once in a while to make sure Snape doesn't come back and see me helping Neville. I noticed Draco staring at me, the edge of his lips curled down into a small scowl.

"Snape's back," Blaise hit my shoulder gently to alert me. I quickly glanced at Neville's potion again to ensure that his potion turned out alright, before turning to face the front of the class.

"Time is up, fill up the vials with your potions, label them with your name and put them on my desk." Snape ordered. "Leave once you have done so." Mumbling amongst the class started as Snape dismissed us, and many hastily got away from their partners. I told Neville I'd meet him outside the dungeons once I remembered that I had to return Draco's robe. But when I turned to give it to him, he was already gone.

"He never sticks around after class, you know." Blaise said from beside me, packing his things. My shoulders slumped as I heard what he said. "You were going to return his robe, weren't you? You can hand it to me, I'll be seeing him for the next lesson as well."

"Oh, thanks then. I don't think I've introduced myself – I'm Alesha Haynes." I responded, smiling. I liked Blaise, he was nice, even in public.

"Blaise Zabini. I think I should go before Draco murders me," Blaise said, grinning back. "It was nice to meet you, Alesha."

I followed Blaise out of the dungeons and met up with Neville outside, who started thanking me profusely for the help before. I found out he had Charms next as well, and we went off to search for Harry and Ron, who were in the Great Hall playing wizards' chess. Hermione, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas soon joined us as we all waited for our next lesson to start at nine-thirty. Dean, Seamus and Neville started talking about the Potions class we just had, complaining about their partners.

"I never thought someone could be so dumb until I saw how he handled his knife!" Seamus said, referring to Vincent Crabbe, whom he was partnered with. We all laughed as he imitated Crabbe perfectly, right down to facial expressions.

We joked around for the next 10 minutes before going to Charms class with the Hufflepuffs. Hogwarts was quite alright, I thought. I was just starting to enjoy myself then.

* * *

A/N: Please review! (: Just to let you guys know, I don't know where this story is going (not even the pairings), so I'm just writing it as it goes on. If you want to see anything happen or something, tell me, and I may be able to add that in somewhere. :D


	4. Lessons, Quidditch and Detention

Disclaimer: Whatever you recognize, I do not own. (:

A/N: I've decided not to have any Voldie in my story, since it'll be quite complicated to tie everything together (and I really can't remember anything!).

* * *

My 18th Birthday

_By boobookeys_

**Chapter 4: Lessons, Quidditch and Detention**

* * *

"_I never thought someone could be so dumb until I saw how he handled his knife!" Seamus said, referring to Vincent Crabbe, whom he was partnered with. We all laughed as he imitated Crabbe perfectly, right down to facial expressions._

_We joked around for the next 10 minutes before going to Charms class with the Hufflepuffs. Hogwarts was quite alright, I thought. I was just starting to enjoy myself then._

o0o

I am not enjoying today.

Charms and Transfiguration was a horrible experience for me. Gosh, just thinking about those two lessons makes me cringe. Since it was the first time I was using a wand, I really sucked at it. We were working on silencing spells in Charms class, and I just could not get it right! It was really frustrating really, since I figured I should learn how to use my wand instead of just, you know, _not_ using it. Instead of silencing the bullfrog I was working on, the volume of its croak was amplified by a million times, and if it wasn't for Professor Flitwick's quick actions, the whole class' eardrums would have shattered. Gah.

Transfiguration was not as bad though, though it was still wearisome. Professor McGonagall made us try Vanishing Spells on snails, which is barely what I made disappear. The most that I could have vanished was its shell, and kind of gave up after a few tries. I stopped using my wand and thus the first one who was able to successfully use the Vanishing Spell (Whoohoo!). I got 10 points for Gryffindor, but I think McGonagall knew I didn't use my wand.

Herbology was alright, since Professor Sprout used her whole lesson to lecture us about the importance of the OWLs, which fifth years have to take at the end of the year. Talking about the OWLs really made me miss the real world, since I _should_ have already passed that stage in my life. We also got loaded with Charms, Transfiguration and Herbology essays. Man, school stinks. After that, the Trio and I were in the Great Hall having our lunch.

"What lessons do you have next?" Hermione asked, scratching out a word on her essay (she's already starting on homework!).

"Care of Magical Creatures with Slytherins, free period, Defence Against the Dark Arts with Slytherins again…that's all." I responded, scanning my timetable. Ron and Harry nodded, indicating that they had the same lessons. "No free period though, we have potions with Hufflepuffs."

"Oh, so I'm in the exact same classes as Harry and Ron then," Hermione said, putting down her quill and helped herself to the food. "I wonder what Hagrid's going to teach us today, I hope nothing too dangerous! Last year's Blast-Ended Skrewts were too much for me."

"He practically doesn't know what dangerous means!" Ron replied. "And to make things worse, we're having the lesson with Slytherins. Bloody hell, and we have DADA with Slytherins _again_ later! What's the school playing at, putting Gryffindors and Slytherins together in so many classes?"

"But you have to agree, seeing Malfoy get hurt by the Hippogriff last year was great." Harry said, grinning. Ron and Hermione laughed, and they told me about the incident Draco had with a Hippogriff in their fourth year.

Speaking of Draco, he was one confusing male. One minute he's being all sensitive and normal, and the next minute he's being a… jerk. Split personality? I don't know, but I decided that I was going to ignore him for a while (if I can) before I get an even more complicated impression of him. Can't he just be mean or nice all the time?

The Trio and I finished up our lunch and headed back to the Common Room to get some rest before Care of Magical Creatures. I hope Hagrid doesn't sound as 'dangerous' as he sounds…

o0o

"All righ', yeh kids follow me! We are headin' into the forest! We shall jus' relax today, I got a big surprise for yeh…" Hagrid shouted, gesturing the class to follow him into the darkness. Hermione and Ron trailed behind and I was starting to feel nervous – did he know what he was doing? Wasn't the Dark Forest supposed to be dangerous?

"You've got to be kidding me," Draco said, hesitantly stepping into the Dark Forest with Blaise next to him. Crabbe and Goyle lagged behind, stuffing armfuls of muffins – which they stole from lunch – into their greedy mouths.

"You sure it's safe?" I looked nervously at Harry.

"Don't know, probably?" Harry said with obvious uncertainty in his voice. "But I'm sure if you listen to Hagrid, you won't get hurt in any way. Come on!" He took hold of my arm and pulled me into the forest, where it was dark despite the rays of sunlight peeking from within the leaves of the trees. We walked for about 15 minutes before stopping at an empty area in the forest.

"Yeh guys take a seat now, in a circle, won't take long!" Hagrid said excitedly. I took a seat on the ground, next to Harry and waited for everyone to settle down. Unfortunately, I was the other link to the Slytherins (Hagrid was the other one), and who else but Draco Malfoy had to take a seat next to me. Hagrid then fished out some raw meat from the pockets of his jacket and handed a piece to a few of us. I held back my lunch as I took the meat – it was dripping with blood!

"They will be comin' soon!" Hagrid shook in his seat, unable to contain his anticipation any longer. "Do yeh see 'em? Beautiful creatures, they are."

Then, huge, black, skeletal-like, winged horses started appearing from behind the trees. They were probably attracted to the blood of the meat. I held out the piece of meat while one of them slowly came in front of me.

"Good work, Alesha! Yeh one of the few who can see it!" Hagrid said, passing another piece of meat to me.

"What are we even supposed to be seeing?" Pansy grumbled as she glared at me, who started feeding and stroking the unusual creature. Probably thinking I've lost my nutters and was communicating with the air. She wasn't the only one, most of the students in the class were staring as well.

"Thestrals!" Hagrid replied, feeding one who went over to him, also attracting some people's attention.

"Thestrals? I've heard about them! Aren't they really dangerous and really unlucky?" Parvati squeaked, frantically looking around her for one.

"They aren't unlucky, they're dead clever an' useful! Thestrals aren' dangerous! All righ', they might take a bite outta you if yeh really annoy them--" Hagrid paused suddenly, wisely thinking that he shouldn't continue with his sentence. "Anyway, who can see 'em? Raise yer hand if yeh can!" Only a few raised our hands up – Harry, Neville, a Slytherin called Theodore Nott and I. Hagrid then asked if anyone knew why the rest of the class couldn't see the Thestrals.

"Thestrals are invisible to those who have not witnessed death," Hermione answered confidently, receiving praise from Hagrid. Witnessed death? But I haven't, how can I see those creatures then? As I pondered over this, Hagrid gave us a break to let us 'play' with the Thestrals.

"How are they, Nott?" Draco asked as he looked at Harry, Neville and I who stood up first and went to look at the Thestral up-close.

"Distasteful," Nott replied, a look of revolt shown on his face.

I slid my hand across the Thestral's wing, which was just a skeleton with black skin stretched over it. Yes, they aren't exactly the most beautiful creature in the world but it is kind of attractive, in its own way. Harry realized that they were the things which drew the carriages that transport Hogwarts students from the Hogwarts Express to the castle, and that he probably could only see them this year because he witnessed Cedric Diggory's death in last year's Triwizard Tournament. Neville witnessed his grandfather's death and I, well, I lied that I was present when my parents died.

The lesson ended later than it was supposed to and Hagrid brought us out of the forest, telling us to read up on Thestrals for the next lesson. Harry, Ron and Hermione rushed off to their Potions class so as to not get in trouble with Snape, and I decided to go back to the dorm.

"Hey Dray, when are the Quidditch team tryouts going to be held? Slytherin's short of a few players, right?" I heard Blaise ask Draco while they walked into the castle, behind me.

"Yeah. Probably the week after next, still looking out for potential players." Draco replied, before both of them went down to the dungeons. Quidditch, eh?

I went back to the dorm, which was empty, and lay on my bed, trying to remember everything I could about the first four Harry Potter books/movies. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember much and swore. I needed to know everything that has happened! If not I'll just be cruising my way through life here without understanding or knowing anything. Why can't the book just fall out of the sky or something? It'll make things much easier, I thought.

"Oomph!" I puffed as something heavy landed on my stomach. I sat up and took the object in my hands. It was a small book. Which weighed more than a kilogram. My eyebrows came together as I wondered what it was. I opened the book and my eyes widened. It was the first four Harry Potter stories (in a tiny book)! I flipped through the pages and grinned.

"Just like magic, huh." I said to myself, before turning to the first page and started to read.

o0o

By the end of the hour, I was on the third book – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. A racket could be heard in the Common Room just then. Curious, I kept my book away and went down to see what was going on.

"I can't believe you two! It is only the second day of school! What could you have possibly done to get you banned?!" Angelina Johnson, a 7th year, stormed into the Common Room. Fred and George Weasley rushed in after her, followed by the Trio, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell. I walked to the Trio and asked what was going on.

"Angelina got appointed Captain of the Quidditch team," Harry answered. "And she's mad 'cause Fred and George got banned by McGonagall from playing after doing some trick of theirs today."

"It wasn't just a trick, mate!" Fred said.

"It was the ultimate prank!" George continued.

"You got banned from Quidditch because of a bloody prank?!" Angelina fumed. "Great, how great. So we've lost two beaters. Oliver's gone too so we also need a keeper. Two beaters and a keeper. Okay, so who are my options…" Angelina walked off, mumbling to herself. Alicia and Katie hurried after her, making apologetic gestures to the rest of us.

"Crazy, that woman." Fred said, jumping into the couch at the fireplace.

"But you shouldn't have gone so far as to get banned, that's really bad, don't you know that?" Hermione lectured. "What did you two do to make McGonagall so harsh anyways?"

"Ah, that's a secret."

"A joker never reveals his secret to outsiders!" The twins said. Hermione sighed.

"Hey Ron, why don't you try out for keeper? You're pretty good, aren't you?" Harry asked, voicing his idea.

"He's decent, but I think Angie will think about it if our little brother does well in tryouts." George replied for Ron.

"Don't I have a say in this?" Ron budged in, unhappy that he was being ignored. The twins jokingly said no, but soon went back to serious Quidditch business.

"But we still need people to fill in our Beater positions! Anyone knows anyone who's any good?" Fred questioned, looking at the rest of us expectantly. Nobody.

"The Beater is the person who uses the bat?" I asked, remembering the things that I've already read in the tiny Harry Potter book. "And hits the bludger thingys at the opponents?" Harry nodded and asked if I knew anyone who I thought could do that well. I shook my head.

"But I am quite interested in trying out," I said. Since cheerleading was non-existent in this school, I suppose the next best thing was to join the game itself, instead of cheering by the sidelines. I was in shape and had some flexibility, so why not?

"Alright then-" George said, bringing his hands together.

"But you have not ridden on a broom before, have you?" Hermione interrupted. I mentally slapped myself on the forehead. Right, I forgot we needed to ride _broomsticks_. The twins stared at me dubiously when they heard what Hermione said.

"I figured I could learn all of that?" I said uncertainly. "Cheerleading helped me with flexibility and stuff so I thought it's worth a shot."

Even though Fred and George weren't sure if I could learn how to fly and be good at Quidditch by tryouts, they still offered to help, scheduling some training sessions over the next two weeks. We parted ways after that, the Trio and I heading to our DADA class with the Slytherins, once again.

o0o

"Who's the DADA teacher this year?" I asked to no one in particular, getting annoyed. The class has been fooling around for half an hour because the teacher had not arrived. Some were playing, some were taking a nap (Harry and Ron), some were busy finishing up their homework (Hermione) and some, like me, were waiting impatiently for the lesson to start. Nobody knew who was teaching DADA this year, as Dumbledore did not announce anything about it at the Welcoming Feast.

"I heard Dumbledore didn't get anyone to fill in the position this year," said Blaise, who was sitting cross-legged on Draco's table, which was next to mine.

"And he couldn't tell us?" I huffed, laying my head on the table and attempted to sleep. I lifted my head up seconds later and groaned. How do you expect a cheerleader to stay still when she's wide awake? Let me answer that - you can't. I thought of something to do and decided on practicing my Silencing Charm, much to my surprise. Hermione's already contaminating me with her..Hermione-ness. I took out my wand from my bag (I never keep it in my robes, unlike others, since I didn't and couldn't use it) and searched around the classroom for something to practice on. A scream and a shrilly laugh emitted from Pansy at that moment and I smirked to myself. Perfect.

I pointed my wand at her and starting practicing the spell. _Silencio. _Nope, nothing. _Silencio?_ Darn. Am I pronouncing it correctly? _Silencio. Silencio. Silencio. Silencio. Silencio. _Uh oh.

Instead of silencing Pansy, her voice dropped three octaves lower, her appearance changed and she practically went through a sex change. She let out a manly scream and snapped her head up, looking around the class to find who the culprit was. I quickly put my wand back in my bag and tried to look like an innocent bystander.

"Who did this?!" She shouted to the class, attracting everyone's attention. Not a moment later, everyone doubled up and laughed. Even the Slytherins found it amusing.

"Everyone settle down!" I suddenly heard Professor McGonagall say from the back of the classroom. Where did she come from? She lifted the spell-gone-wrong from Pansy and demanded that she know who was the cause of it. The class looked at one another, wanting to know who it was as well.

"I did it," Draco said, getting a gasp from Pansy and everyone else in the room. I think he knew that I was the one who cast the spell...

"I helped!" Blaise grinned, giving Draco a wink. McGonagall glared at them and gave them detention.

"I am very disappointed that all of you cannot even stay in a classroom without causing any disturbance!" She scolded, eyeing the two Slytherins next to me. "At any rate, I have come to tell you that there won't be a teacher teaching you Defence Against the Dark Arts until the start of next year. All students will be expected to do some self-studying and learn the first eight chapters of your textbook. An essay will also have to be done on every chapter, to ensure that all of you actually _study_. If there are no questions, you will have an early dismissal for this lesson. You may leave." Her announcement received jeers and cheers from the class, and after that, everyone made their way out of the room. I joined the Trio, tagging along as they made their way to the Common Room.

"I'll meet you guys later. I have to go back to the classroom to ask McGonagall something." I told them, spotting McGonagall walking out of the classroom with Draco and Blaise behind her. The three nodded and I ran to catch up with the Transfiguration teacher.

"Professor!" I called out to her, making her stop in their tracks. Draco and Blaise eyebrows raised as they continued walking away, past McGonagall and I. "Um, I just wanted to tell you that I also had something to do with the Pansy thing just now. It wasn't Malfoy's and Zabini's fault." McGonagall pursed her lips.

"Alright then, you may serve detention with Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Zabini. It will be held in the Transfiguration classroom this Friday at nine o'clock. Be punctual." She responded, swiftly walking off before I could say anything else.

"Good job," Draco spoke lazily, as he and Blaise emerged from behind a wall nearby.

"We got in trouble for you, and what do you do? You get yourself punished as well!" Blaise continued, clicking his tongue.

"Why would you help me? I'm a Gryffindor. Slytherins supposed to hate Gryffindors." I replied. What were they planning? The two guys smirked as I said this.

"We like to be nice at times," Draco said. "See you in detention, _Alesha_." I heart fluttered as my name rolled off his tongue. Great, I'm trying to ignore the guy and he comes and prevents me from just doing that! After that, I took a deep breath and hurried back to the Common Room, smiling.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for all those who reviewed! I'll be taking longer to upload chapters now, since holidays are ending soon. ): But I'm going to try to write as many chapters as possible and THEN post them up one by one. :D And it'll be taking even _longer_ because my brain's starting to turn into goo after doing homework. ): Please review! I really appreciate it. (:


	5. Bets and Balls

Disclaimer: Whatever you recognize, I do not own. (:

* * *

My 18th Birthday

_By boobookeys_

**Chapter 5: Bets and Balls**

* * *

"_Why would you help me? I'm a Gryffindor. Slytherins supposed to hate Gryffindors." I replied. What were they planning? The two guys smirked as I said this._

"_We like to be nice at times," Draco said. "See you in detention, Alesha." I heart fluttered as my name rolled off his tongue. Great, I'm trying to ignore the guy and he comes and prevents me from just doing that! After that, I took a deep breath and hurried back to the Common Room, smiling._

o0o

Friday arrived faster than I realized. With all of Fred and George's beater training, homework and lessons, it was rare that I even got any time alone. On the bright side, I managed to finish reading the tiny Harry Potter book! At least I won't be so oblivious to everything that's been going on from now.

It was already eight-forty and I'm supposed to serve detention with Draco and Blaise in twenty minutes. Honestly, I'm quite nervous about it. Seeing those two makes my heart skip a beat, as hard as it is for me to admit it. Usually I'd welcome this feeling with open arms (cause it's seldom I feel like that), but I reckoned I shouldn't get too attached with anyone in this world, it'll make going back home so much more complicated.

I've been sitting at the Common Room fireplace with Harry, Ron and Hermione, trying to finish the last two inches of my essay so that I can spend my weekend doing other things. What fun would it be if the weekend was just filled with homework? When the clock struck eight-forty five, the Trio wished me good luck for detention, and I packed my things and went up to the dorm to change into something comfortable. Lavender and Parvati were huddled in one corner of the room talking in hushed tones, probably have an extreme gossiping session. I never particularly enjoyed being with either of them as they spent eighty percent of their time gossiping and such.

You may _think_ that being a cheerleader will put me in that category, but I'm proud to say that I'm not. Quoting Ellen (if you can remember, was my best friend in Cerulean Heights), I am the most "un-cheerleaderish head cheerleader ever!". No boyfriend, no gossip, no breaking of rules. Sometimes people try to make me feel ashamed for not doing all of that, but I'm glad I have the right mind to realize that all those things are stupid. I slipped on a pair of jeans, a white tank and a pair of converse shoes, grabbed my wand and headed to detention.

o0o

When I stepped into the Transfiguration classroom, I realized that Draco and Blaise had not arrived yet, and took a seat, cross-legged, on a table. To think, if I got onto the Gryffindor Quidditch team, I would be against Draco and Blaise in the first match of the season, which was somewhere in the first week of November. Draco was Seeker and Blaise was Chaser. And as one of the Beaters on the opposing team, I would have to do some serious damaging to them, especially Draco. That'll be hard to do. Fred and George have been great coaches though, I must say. I never knew Quidditch required so much hard work and strength - even more than cheerleading. But experience in the cheer area comes in handy in Quidditch, since you will be able to do fancy tricks to prevent getting bashed into and all.

My thoughts were interrupted as I heard the door open and shut. I turned to look and there they were – the two Slytherins. Draco was dressed in a black sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, whereas Blaise was wearing a plain white t-shirt and jeans as well. I've never seen them wear anything other than the Hogwarts uniform before, but they looked so…_good_. Gah, snap yourself out of it, 'Lesha.

"Hello," I greeted the two boys softly. They nodded in response and took a seat on the tables in front of me.

"Pleased to see you're wearing something somewhat decent now." Draco smirked (he does that a lot, no?), scrutinizing the clothes I was wearing. Feeling insecure, I changed my sitting position and hugged my legs to my chest.

"Funny," I replied sarcastically. "And to think the Slytherin King would be wearing something so casual? I expected you to come in a suit or something."

"Since when did Dray become the 'Slytherin King'?" Blaise laughed, earning a glare from Draco. Dray's a nice nickname, I thought.

"You're trying out for a spot in the Gryffindor team, aren't you?" Draco asked me. I nodded.

"Beater."

"Tough for someone who hasn't flown before. You sure you can handle it, little miss cheerleader?" Blaise teased. Draco smirked (again). Wait, how did they know I was a cheerleader back home, and have not flown before? I know my cheer uniform on the first day gave me away but aren't Slytherins super anti-Muggle and stuff? Weird. In any case, I still felt insulted at Blaise's comment.

"Of course I can handle it! In fact, Gryffindor is going to slay you in the first match! Don't underestimate me or the others. We beat you last year, and we could do it again." I rebutted, giving them a Slytherin-smirk. "I bet I can knock both of you off your brooms!"

"You want to bet?" Draco challenged, after looking at Blaise for approval.

"Bet what, exactly?"

"If you're unable to hit us off our brooms with a Bludger during the match, you become our personal maid. For two weeks."

"And if I win?"

"What do you want?"

I pondered for a moment. What _do_ I want? I don't want either of them to be my personal _maids_ - that's kind of embarrassing for me and kind of gay for them. Then an idea struck me.

"You two have to be nice to _all_ Gryffindors, for two weeks. And I mean nice in a really obvious way. Like saying hello, smiling at them, and other things."

"No way-"

"That's impossible-"

"To Gryffindors?" The two Slytherins responded. I grinned broadly at them.

"Deal?" I prompted, watching them as they thought if they should accept the challenge.

"And if the loser doesn't comply with the bet, then the winners will be allowed to do anything to her." Draco added, eyeing me. Darn them, they're already talking like they will definitely win the bet or something!

"Fine," I responded. We shook on it before McGonagall came into the room. She conjured up some cleaning materials, confiscated our wands and told us that we had until eleven to clean up the classroom.

"I expect the room to be spotless. I will be back at eleven o'clock sharp." She ordered, sweeping out of the room. I glimpsed at my detention mates and got to work.

o0o

An hour and a half into detention and the classroom was wet and covered in foam. No, it's not because we were doing a good job cleaning, it is because Draco and Blaise somehow got into a water fight and started pelting soaked sponges at each other. It really surprised me – who would have thought they were so childish? Being the more sensible one there, I remained in a corner and watched them.

By then, they have already gotten so wet and their clothing was starting to cling onto their skins. I blushed, forcing myself to look away but I couldn't. From where I was, I could see their taut muscles from underneath their shirts. Abs, biceps - everything. Most probably from Quidditch. My eyes couldn't help but linger further down their fronts, but when I felt the back of my neck prickle and my face heating up, I turned around to face the wall and shook the thoughts out of my head. What a naughty girl I am. But what a naïve one as well. I'm well older than 18 years and I can't even take a look at their…uh-hums? How mature. Sure, I never got much experience beyond snogging, but that isn't important, right? Rig-

_Splash! _

I suddenly felt water spatter all over my back and spun around. Draco and Blaise, flushed from their game of wet-the-other, smirked (once again) from the other end of the room.

"Sorry!"

"Total accident!"

I returned a smirk and grabbed a sponge, dunking it into a pail of water.

"It's alright!" I answered, before chucking the sponge at them. It hit Draco square in the face, and he shook his head like a dog, flinging water away from his face.

"Oh, it's on." He said. Not a moment after, the detention ended up as a wet-the-other war game. Tables were used as shields and sponges flew in the air constantly. Since it was two guys versus the little me, I ended up getting extremely wet and soapy. After minutes of fun, Blaise noticed the clock in the classroom read 10.55p.m., and swore.

"Shit! McGonagall's coming back in 5 minutes!" He yelled, standing up and looking anxiously at Draco and I. Abruptly, we got up and hurriedly arranged the tables and chairs neatly and attempted to dry up the place as quickly as possible. 1 minute left.

"Damn it, wish we got our wands!" Blaise grumbled, gathering the mountains of foam and dumping them into the pails. "McGonagall's going to kill us." I bit my lip and stared at the two Slytherins. Would I dare? In front of them? But I don't want them to find out…I contemplated for a second and went on with my plan. _I want this classroom to be spotless. _

Sure enough, the next moment, the classroom was tidied up like we've been doing our jobs properly for the past two hours. I let out a breath that I didn't realize I was holding in, and looked at Draco and Blaise with the most surprised expression I could master.

"Did you do that?" I asked innocently. They both shook their heads, recovering from the shock of the sudden disappearance of the mess. McGonagall came back at eleven o'clock sharp, returned our wands 

and inspected the classroom. Looking satisfied, she turned to us, but her expression changed almost immediately.

"May I ask why all three of you are soaked from top to bottom?" My eyes widened as I lifted my hand to touch my hair. Yup, I was soaked alright. And so were Draco and Blaise. I turned to look at them, as if asking if they had any brilliant excuse.

"Things got…out of hand." I said, staring at McGonagall to see her reaction. Surprisingly, she believed my pathetic excuse.

"Alright, I knew it was quite a bad idea to make two opposing houses to do detention together, but it seems you three did a good job." She sighed, before going back to her stern self. "You may go back to your dormitories now, NO wandering off." We exited the classroom and went the opposite direction as McGonagall. I walked down the hallway with Draco and Blaise behind me. It gave me the creeps – them being so quiet.

"34B," I heard one of them say quite audibly from behind me. I turned round, stopping the two Slytherins.

"What?" I asked. Don't tell me they're talking about…

"Your bra size, 34B, am I not right?" Draco smirked (AGAIN!), staring at my chest. Blaise was doing the same. My mouth opened in disgust despite the fact that I was blushing.

"Perverts," I muttered to myself, walking away at a faster pace than before.

"Remember the bet!" They shouted from behind me. Something suddenly struck me after hearing that.

"Hold on," I turned round to ask the two. "I'm not even sure that I'm on the team yet! How can I win the bet if I'm not chosen to be on the team?" The two Slytherins grinned. They knew about this before!

"Then you'd have to make sure you do."

"Or you'll automatically lose."

I glared at them in disbelief – what cheats! – and went back to the Common Room grumpily. I'm not going to be their personal slave, I'm _not_.

o0o

The next day, I told Harry, Ron and Hermione about my bet with Draco and Blaise. Hermione was disapproving yet touched at my effort to make the Slytherins be nice, and Ron and Harry were more than enthusiastic to win the bet.

"If you hit Malfoy off his broom, he gets hurt, Harry will be sure to catch the Snitch, we win the match _and_ he'll have to be nice to all of us! Blimey, 'Lesha, this is the best bet ever!" Ron exclaimed excitedly, jumping from his seat. "And as a bonus, you get to do some major damage to Zabini too! This is BLOODY AWESOME!"

The news of the bet spread through Hogwarts like wildfire. Every now and then, as I pass the hallway, I get either good-luck wishes or taunts from the other students. Even Hagrid came and wished me good luck for the tryouts next Saturday! Yeah, it felt good to be known like that, but it really made me more worried about the tryouts. Fred and George (or Gred and Forge, as they insisted I called them) also made me practice with them twice as hard.

The following week passed by as a blur. Every minute that I wasn't having my meals or in lessons, I was in the Quidditch pitch practicing beating. Several Gryffindors, including Harry and Ron, came to help out, and that really amused me, seeing how eager they are to see Draco and Blaise be polite to them all. Even Hermione showed signs of wanting me to win the bet, letting me copy off her homework when I'm too exhausted to finish it by myself.

The morning of the tryouts (it was a Saturday), almost all of the Gryffindors came to watch. Several Slytherins also made the effort to come over, probably to try to distract me and prevent me from making the team. The Quidditch pitch was covered with cushions, probably in case anyone falls. I stood in the midst of all the other hopefuls before I spotted Ron making his way towards me.

"Fred and George forced me to try out for Keeper, they said that none of these people were any good." Ron said grumpily. Angelina called out the people who were trying out for Keeper first, and the rest of us stood at the side and watched.

"Katie, Alicia (sounds awfully a lot like my name, doesn't it?) and I will be trying to score. All you have to do is to block the Quaffle from going in. Easy enough? Let's start!" Angelina instructed, blowing the whistle. After a few people tried out, I realized that Gred and Forge were right about them – they weren't very good. Some managed to block one or two goals, but some couldn't block any at all. One fourth year even got knocked out by a Quaffle coming his way and was sent to the Hospital Wing.

Ron was up next. He mounted the school broomstick and flew over to the goalposts. He nodded to Angelina to say he was ready and the three Chasers started firing Quaffles at him like canons. Gred and Forge started a very animated cheer as Ron started hitting back and catching the Quaffles one by one.

"GO, RON, GO! MAKE MUMMY PROUD!" Gred and Forge cheered. Ron's tryout ended on a good note and he landed on the ground, looking exceptionally pleased with himself. He got a number of 

congratulations from the other Gryffindors and was thumped on the back (hard) by the Weasley twins. He's most probably going to make the team, I thought.

The beater tryouts followed soon after and the people trying out were somewhat (but not much) better than the wannabe-Keepers. Before I knew it, it was my turn and I mounted the broom, flying over to Angelina, who explained what I was supposed to do.

"I suppose you've been watching the people before you, but just in case, here is what you have to do: we enchanted these Quaffles to move around like Bludgers, but they won't cause any major damage to anyone, and all you have to do is use them to hit Katie, Alicia or I off our brooms with this bat." she started, giving me the Beater's bat. "Tricky thing is that they're fast, so you'll have to get around that. Ready?"

I gulped and nodded, taking a deep breath to calm myself. I looked down below and the Slytherins already started jeering as much as they could. I noticed Draco and Blaise at one corner, looking up at me, and my stomach jolted. Darn, some way to get me nervous. I heard Angelina blow the whistle and I blocked out all other thoughts in my head. The Bludger-Quaffles started to fly around violently and I held on tight to my bat, closing into one of them. I swung, I chased, I hit. The whole thing was like tennis, really. When you swing your racket and make the "Ugh!" sound, hitting the tennis ball back at your opponent. Funny how things in this world are so similar to normal things, but yet so different.

My tryout wasn't as bad as I expected. I managed to hit all of the Gryffindor Chasers off their brooms at least once. I touched the ground and went over to the Trio and Gred and Forge. They congratulated me and the Trio and I made our way to the Lake to just lie around and relax. We pulled up our pants and sat at the edge of the Lake, dipping our feet into the water.

"You know," I thought out loud. "Even if I do make the team, I don't have a broomstick to ride on. I really want a Firebolt, it's kind of cool." Ron nodded at this statement.

"You could borrow one of Fred or George's broomsticks, since they're not playing anymore." Harry answered.

"Cleansweep Fives - they're not bad." Ron continued. "Or you could buy one?"

I sighed. Of course, I could buy one. Except for one thing – I don't even have a single Knut that belongs to me. Dumbledore will definitely not give me the money to buy one either. Argh, why is everything so hard here?!

o0o

Dinnertime on the coming Tuesday, Angelina announced the people who made the team – Ron (Keeper), some guy called Andrew Kirke (Angelina chose him grudgingly, since he wasn't very good) and me! She gave us the Quidditch practice schedules and I immediately felt my stress level rise – practice 4 times a week? Is she insane?

"First practice is next Monday, make sure you're there!" Angelina told us, before going back to her seat in the Great Hall. I rubbed my temple and groaned. And I thought I would enjoy my time in Hogwarts. With my wand failing me, being bombarded with homework and now, Quidditch practices, I would be even busier than before. When everyone had their fill, Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement.

"Now, I know that many of you are waiting in anticipation to hear about the first Hogsmeade weekend, and I am glad to say that it will be held this Saturday!" The whole hall erupted in cheers and everyone started talking eagerly about it. I remembered what I read about Hogsmeade – it's the only entirely wizarding village in Britain, and students get to go there on selected Saturdays from third year onwards.

"On that day itself, you will be handing in your consent forms to Professor McGonagall before making your way there." Dumbledore continued. "Also, I am pleased to announce that this year, we will be having a Halloween Masquerade Ball on the 1st of October. Fourth years and up are allowed to attend this grand event, and you will be required to turn up in your most flashy masked Halloween costume. That'll be all, I hope everyone will have a good night's sleep! Run along now!" Everyone started discussing about the Ball and stood up and walked out of the hall, back to our Common Rooms.

"Consent forms?" I asked Ron, Harry and Hermione, referring to Hogsmeade weekends.

"Yeah, did you get yours signed?" Hermione replied. "McGonagall's rather strict with those, if you don't have them signed, then she won't let you go to Hogsmeade."

"The Dursleys didn't sign mine back in third year, and I had to remain in Hogwarts when everyone else went there. But I'm able to go now…" Harry said, trailing off at the end. The Trio has not told me about Sirius yet, but unfortunately, I forgot that.

"Sirius signed it, didn't he?" I blurted out, causing the three to stop in their tracks and stare at me in shock.

"How…how did you know? About Sirius?" Harry asked, looking at me suspiciously. Hermione stopped anyone of us from saying another word and shooed us into Harry and Ron's dormitory (Neville, Dean and Seamus were playing Exploding Snap in the Common Room), before repeating Harry's question.

"I don't know?" I answered pathetically. "I just…do."

"What other things do you know?" Hermione interrogated, before making me tell them everything that I knew about them, except for their future, of course.

"So you know everything about us – the Chamber of Secrets, Sirius, Remus, the Triwizard Tournament?" Ron said disbelievingly. I nodded my head nervously and stared at the three before me. I knew more, the things that were in the last three books (I've read through them once back home), but I didn't think I should tell them.

o0o

The next week went past quickly, and by Hogsmeade Saturday, my body was so sore, I could hardly move. Angelina's killer, I tell you. Luckily, I was able to get approval from McGonagall to go to Hogsmeade and the Trio seemed more comfortable with me since they found out I knew everything about their 'adventures'. I had given up on using my wand, and resorted to pretending to use it while doing the spells my way, making lessons a breeze.

Everyone has been trying to think about what they were going to go as for the Halloween Ball too. I managed to persuade Ron and Hermione to go in matching outfits (it'll be so adorable!), and Hermione happily agreed, forcing Ron to go along with her outfit ideas. I've also had a few guys ask me to go as their 'dates', including Seamus Finnigan, but I refused their offers. It's a masquerade ball – you're not supposed to know who you're with! Harry had many girls come up to him as well, but he refused, agreeing with my theory.

"Why don't you go with Cho Chang?" Ron asked Harry as he stuffed his three-meat sandwich down his throat. Hermione snorted.

"You shouldn't," she replied. "She's still crying over what has happened last year – to Cedric, I mean – I suspect she's just trying to attract attention. I find it quite appalling." I laughed at that comment.

"How about Ginny? I bet she'll be more than willing to go in matching outfits with you." I suggested, hearing Hermione mutter something about 'better her than Cho'. Ron burped and gave Harry his nod of approval, receiving a look of disgust from Hermione. Harry went over to Ginny to ask her (she turned a bright shade of crimson) and when he came back, asked me if I planned on going with anyone.

"Probably not, I may not go at all, or just go alone. Having a date will just take the fun out of the masquerade theme, anyway." I said nonchalantly, spreading more marmalade on my toast. "I'll just go to the ball and wait for someone to ask me to dance, I'm sure most of the people going won't have dates either.

"It'll be awfully boring without a partner to accompany you though," Hermione said, sipping her orange juice. I sighed.

"What are you three planning to go as?"

"Ginny wants to go as a princess, so I'll probably go as a price." Harry answered.

"And I had this great idea for me and Ronald to go as a medieval couple! Gladrag's Wizardwear, the clothing shop in Hogsmeade, has fantastic costumes for sale! We'll go look at them later!" Hermione squealed.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Ron groaned. We all knew what he was thinking – medieval equals tights. Harry chuckled.

Once we finished with our breakfast, we went out into the yard to pass McGonagall our consent forms, and arrived at Hogsmeade a few minutes later. We decided to go to The Three Broomsticks first to grab some Butterbeers. I must say, it is the best drink I have ever tasted! One sip will automatically make you feel all warm inside, and lift your spirits up a little too. We spent quite a long time there just chatting and people-watching, before meeting with Ginny and making our way to Gladrag's to buy our costumes for the Halloween Ball.

Compared to what it looked like from the outside, the shop was e-nor-mous. Several students were already there, picking out their costumes, and I separated from the two couples to find my own. Cowboys, pirates, pumpkins, cats, ghosts, skeletons, vampires, angels, devils…the list goes on. I looked around the shop when something caught my eye. I smiled as I took it off the display. The costume consisted of a white off-shoulder long-sleeved baggy half shirt, a short black skirt that had a thin sword attached to it, black fishnet stockings, black high boots, a black cape, a black top hat and a plain black eye mask. Think a female Zorro crossed with a sexy female pirate. I loved it! I went over to the back of the shop to get the costume fitted by the shop owner, and was extremely pleased with my find.

"Excellent choice, my dear." The shop owner told me. "Wonderful piece…and no one has bought it yet! There is a matching male costume as this one as well, would you like to get that as well?" she said, showing me the matching male pirate-Zorro costume. I shook my head and changed back into my own clothes, paid 6 galleons 4 sickles for it and went to help the rest pick out their costumes.

"Looks who's here," Ron whispered, motioning for us to look at the entrance. My stomach jolted. "Malfoy and that other git Zabini. Wonder where Crabbe and Goyle are, they could probably get two sets of troll costumes, it'll probably look better than them though." Hermione and Ginny giggled at his humor and went on choosing their costumes. Their giggles appeared to have attracted the two Slytherin's attention, and they looked over at us (or me, since the rest had their backs turned), giving me a smirk. Was it me or can they not stop doing that? They then made their way straight to the back of the shop.

When the Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione picked out their outfits, Ron and Hermione headed to the back of the shops to get them fitted, with me in tow. Harry and Ginny decided that they needn't try their costumes on, and went outside to wait. Before I stepped into the back of the shop, however, I vaguely heard the shop owner saying, "Oh yes…female one has already been bought…nice girl with long bright blonde hair…"

My heart skipped a beat. Was the shop owner talking about me? I heard the register ring and snapped out of my thoughts, stepping inside. I squeezed myself through the throng of people to the changing rooms to see the Ron and Hermione in their costumes, but saw none other than Draco Malfoy, slouched lazily (but sexi-, okay, never mind) in one of the couches outside, probably waiting for Blaise to change, since the dark boy wasn't in sight. I went over to take a seat next to him, happy that he hasn't acknowledged me since I came in. I noticed a bag next at his feet, which meant he has already bought his costume. Wonder what it was… Suddenly, Hermione came bursting out of her changing room, twirling around in her medieval costume, which was a full length maroon dress with long, flowing sleeves.

"Come on, Ronald! I want to see how you look like!" she called elatedly, knocking on Ron's changing room door.

"No way! These costumes should be banned!" Ron responded, refusing to come out. Hermione then threatened him with not checking his homework anymore, and he reluctantly slipped out. I heard a snort from Draco and saw that he was on the brink of laughing out loud, but I could see why. Ron was wearing a large brown and white long sleeved shirt, which was alright, but what really made him hate the costume (I guessed) were the light brown tights that showed the outline of his legs completely. He looked over at me and jumped.

"Whoa, 'Lesha," he said, eyes widening. "You and Malfoy look bloody alike from here, no offence." Hermione, ignoring what he said, inverted his attention to their outfits. I turned to look at Draco and I had to agree, just a bit. Platinum blonde hair, sharp features…but I bet there are loads of people like that. Draco stood up, pretending to not hear Ron's comment and walked over to the last changing room at the corner, knocking on the door. The door opened slightly and he peered in, before starting to laugh. It wasn't one of those cold laughs of his, this time it was warm and friendly, making me smile.

Ron and Hermione called me over and we made our way out of the shop, met Harry and Ginny, before going to the other shops in Hogsmeade, including Honeydukes, where I bought as many sweets and chocolates as I could. They all looked so delicious!

Finally, in the evening, everyone made their way back to Hogwarts in high spirits, carrying bags of merchandise.

o0o

The rest of September was filled with pressure. Teachers never failed to make us remember about the OWLs that were coming at the end of the year, and were drowning us in homework. The only class everyone enjoyed right now was Defence Against the Dark Arts, since there wasn't any teacher available. Everyone was still trying to guess who it was, but each possibility seemed as unlikely as the previous ones. I was just glad it wasn't Dolores Umbridge who, in the fifth Harry Potter book, was the horrible 

DADA teacher from the Ministry. To think about it, this year was nothing at all like the fifth book, and I proposed that it's probably because I appeared.

It's a good thing, in more ways than one. Lots of not-so-good things happened in the fifth book – Ron and Hermione became prefects and not Harry, Dolores Umbridge, Department of Mysteries, Voldemort and Sirius' death. The last one being the worst. It was always relieving for me to know that none of these has happened, since I could have prevented them if they did.

It was the day of Halloween, and the Masquerade Ball, and the castle was decked out in orange and black decorations, and gigantic pumpkins which Hagrid grew himself. There was never a second of the day that you will not hear someone talking excitedly about the Ball. The hype was as much as last year's Yule Ball, since everyone was thrilled that they could do whatever they want during the Ball and no one will know. Everyone was guessing who would dress up as what and barely paid attention during lessons, making the teachers give up teaching altogether.

"Come on, 'Lesha! Why aren't you getting ready?" Hemione asked as she pranced around the room in her costume. I wouldn't be able to recognize her if I didn't know she was actually Hermione!

"Yeah, tonight will be so exciting! Can you just imagine - a mysterious guy you don't recognize asking you to dance?" Lavender and Parvati sighed, looking into a magazine for hair tips.

I got up from my bed and went into the bathroom to get ready. I took a long bath ("Are you trying to drown yourself in there?" Hermione said) and wore my costume, which by the way, was an awfully difficult process since there were so many pieces to it. I looked into the mirror and gave myself wavy hair and some light make up. I walked out of the bathroom just to hear squeals from the three girls outside.

"Merlin! You look fantastic!"

"How did you do your hair and make-up?"

"Your tummy's so flat! (I smiled at this – Quidditch had some perks)"

I helped the rest of my dorm mates to prepare their look, and we went down to the Common Room, where Ginny, Harry and Ron were already waiting in their fabulous costumes. Ginny gasped before she praised Hermione and I about our costumes, much to Hermione's delight.

"You women take forever to get ready!" Ron whined before we all made our way to the Great Hall. The entrance was swarming with people trying to get in (it was quite bizarre, seeing pumpkins walking about), as the ghosts told everyone that we had to sit according to where our name cards were on the tables inside (for 'house unity', apparently). I separated from the rest and looked around in the hall. The house tables have been removed and replaced with dozens of small round tables, each with four chairs. Probably for one person from each house.

I walked around the hall in search for my seat for nearly fifteen minutes before I found it. Only one other student was already seated there and stared as I sat down. There was definitely some tension – two different houses _and_ we didn't know who the other was.

Most students managed to settle down in the next ten minutes and by then, I was in quite an interesting conversation with the person from before. He was dressed as one of the three musketeers, whom I eventually guessed as Michael Corner, a Ravenclaw.

"I heard that the teachers will be looking out for the 'Most Compatible Halloween Couple' or something like that," the supposedly-Michael told me. "So all the girls are trying to find the guy who's dressed in a matching outfit, and hoping he'll ask them to dance. Quite odd, seeing that some girls are dressed as fairies. They don't expect any of the guys to be wearing a fairy costume, do they?"

I let out a small laugh, looked around the hall and spotted Ron two tables away from mine, almost laughing even more at the sight. He was sulking and covering his ears as what seemed like Zacharias Smith was boasting about something. Ginny was, fortunately for her, sitting with Luna Lovegood, a friend of hers. Harry and Hermione were nowhere to be found.

"Who'd you think will be the Slytherin sitting with us, Gryffindor? Hope it's not some annoying git." Michael continued. I guess he hadn't realized who I was yet, thus calling me 'Gryffindor'.

Hannah Abbott, dressed as a Gypsy, joined in our conversation moments later and when Dumbledore stood up and announced the beginning of the feast, one seat was still empty – the Slytherin's ("Better without him, anyway." Michael said). The feast was even more scrumptious than the usual feasts, and most of the people in the hall pushed their differences aside and started enjoying their night.

"Hey, look! That person's wearing your matching costume!" Hannah Abbott said, nudging me. I looked up and undoubtedly, the guy who was walking towards our table was dressed as a male pirate-Zorro. He sat down in the empty seat and gazed at me and my costume, before helping himself with food. He had dark brown hair and his eyes were a cold, misty grey. I recognized him from somewhere…

"Hello, Slytherin." Michael greeted the guy, whom just gave a curt nod. Michael then gave up trying to talk to the Slytherin and started making conversation with me and Hannah. When we all had our fill, Dumbledore moved all the tables and chairs to the side and began the dance. Dumbledore had again booked the Weird Sisters for the ball (he booked them for last year's Yule Ball as well), and the eight hairy _dudes_ went up on stage and started doing their thing. I went over to the side and took a seat on one of the chairs.

'Wow, no date for a dance. You really are a failure as a head cheerleader, Alesha.' I thought. I scanned the dance floor and recognized a few couples dancing. Harry was dancing with Ginny, Ron with Hermione, Michael Corner with what I _thought_ was Cho Chang…and was that Neville with Hannah Abbott? And sure enough, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout and even Professor Trelawney were at the side, smiling and scribbling down words onto their pieces of parchments.

I sighed. My thoughts then went back to the dark haired Slytherin boy at my table just now. Who was he? I thought as hard as I could but couldn't pinpoint any Slytherin who has dark brown hair _and_ grey eyes. I tried to find the guy again but he was nowhere within sight. I sighed again. What a boring ball this was for me.

"Care to dance?" a deep, handsome voice asked, bringing me back from my thoughts. I stared at the dark attractive masked pirate in front of me and soon figured out who it was.

"Zabini?" I said, realizing my voice had become raspy. The guy chuckled and gave a quick nod, holding out his hand. Damn it, this guy's so good-looking, he should be thrown into Azkaban for it! I tensely put my hand over his and he led me to the dance floor, where the Weird Sisters started playing a slow ballad. As I put my hands on Blaise's shoulders and moved my body closer to his, I could feel his heart thumping hard and my breathing started to get choppy.

_What was this feeling?_

* * *

A/N: Hey y'all! :D I'm so glad I got this chapter over 6000 words! Please make the effort to review, I really appreciate it! Chapters will be coming on slower, since school's starting next week and it takes a while for me to think up of what will happen next. In the meantime, hope you enjoyed what's been going on so far! Feedback is cherished with every cell in my brain (:

REVIEW OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE! (:


	6. Understanding Draco Malfoy

Disclaimer: Whatever you recognize, I do not own. (:

A/N: Please excuse my lack of knowledge of the students in Hogwarts – I can only remember the people in Harry's year!

* * *

My 18th Birthday

_By boobookeys_

**Chapter 6: Understanding Draco Malfoy**

* * *

"_Zabini?" I said, realizing my voice had become raspy. The guy chuckled and gave a quick nod, holding out his hand. Damn it, this guy's so good-looking, he should be thrown into Azkaban for it! I tensely put my hand over his and he led me to the dance floor, where the Weird Sisters started playing a slow ballad. As I put my hands on Blaise's shoulders and moved my body closer to his, I could feel his heart thumping hard and my breathing started to get choppy._

_What was this feeling?_

o0o

The song ended after two minutes and my legs was ready to give out. I excused myself from Blaise and ran out of the building, all the way to the Quidditch pitch, where I collapsed spread-eagled onto the ground. I took off my hat and placed it on the ground beside me.

"This shouldn't be happening…he's just a character in a book…he's not real…not real…" I muttered to myself continuously, closing my eyes. I lay there for a while before I heard the rustle of the grass and sat up quickly, searching the grounds for anyone. There, in a distance, was the guy in my matching outfit.

"What do you want?" I said irritably, this wasn't the time for stupid Slytherins. Without a word, the guy just walked over and sat next to me.

"Who are you?" I asked, staring at this odd Slytherin, who was looking up into the night sky. He didn't give me an answer. Slytherin of a few words? Whatever or whoever he was, I sat there with him in silence for what seemed like forever. Even though I had no idea who this guy was, just being with him, without doing anything, was comfortable and somewhat calming. Out of the blue, I heard a 'click' and apparently, so did the Slytherin. What was that? Was someone spying on us?

The Slytherin seemed to think so and he stood up, strangely more worried than he should be, grabbing my arm and making me do so as well. He pulled me back into the Great Hall where the dance was about to end and disappeared suddenly. Weird. I spotted Ron and Hermione at a corner and went over to them.

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked me very seriously. "Ron and I thought you got kidnapped or something! You weren't here for the whole ball!" Ron nodded but didn't say anything. It seemed like his energy has been drained out of him.

"I had _one_ dance…" I defended myself. Hermione gave me a look of disbelief. "Then I went outside to have some fresh air. Where's Harry and Ginny?" I quickly changed the subject, in case Hermione tries to pry every single detail out of me.

"Getting some drinks. I had a great time tonight! I can't believe you missed it." Hermione said, before telling me everything about her night. But I wasn't listening, I _couldn't_ listen. My thoughts were completely directed to the strange Slytherin guy. I still don't know who in the world he was and it was starting to bother me a lot. Harry and Ginny joined us with drinks later on, before Professor Sprout went up on stage.

"Attention everyone! We have a surprise announcement - it is time to announce the Most Compatible Halloween Couple!" She said eagerly. "Without further ado, in fourth place, and winners of half a day without any lessons…" Everyone gasped. No lessons? That'll be awesome!

"Hannah Abbott and Neville Longbottom!" The Great Hall paused in silence for a second before most of us cheered loudly, especially the Gryffindors. Hannah Abbott and Neville – who would have known they were 'compatible'? The two went up on stage, got their no-lessons pass and went back down. They looked rather shocked at who the other was.

"In third place and winners of one whole lesson-free day…" Everyone held their breath in anticipation. "Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley!"

Ron jumped up in ecstasy and cheered as loudly as he could, before he eagerly dragged Hermione to the stage, where he almost snatched the pass from Professor Sprout. Hermione didn't seem as excited though, which is quite expected of the bookworm. She'll probably spend her lesson-free day in the library, which is almost similar to going to class (maybe even worse). Professor Sprout announced Harry and Ginny as the second place winners (one and a half of lesson-free days!) and the whole hall erupted in cheers once again. The Gryffindors were most especially pleased when they realized that the winning couples had at least one Gryffindor in it.

"And before I announce the winning couple, I will award, by popular demand, the "Most Entertaining Couple" title and a prize of half a day without any lessons to…Fred and George Weasley!" The cheers and laughs that followed that statement were louder than ever. Several Gryffindors stood on chairs and the tables, jumping up and down, cheering for the Weasley twins. When the noise settled, everyone (especially the Gryffindors) listened intently on who the first prize winner was.

"Finally, in first place and winners of two days without lessons are… Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini!" Sprout announced. My stomach gave a jolt. I guess he had fun while I was gone. The hall cheered once again, whereas a few gasps and mutters could be heard.

"Zabini and Parkinson _won_?" Ginny said doubtfully. "No way!" The rest of the Gryffindors could not believe their ears either, but were contented that our housemates managed to clinch the rest of the prizes. The two Slytherins made their way onto the stage smugly while the Slytherins in the hall rooted for them, delighted that no Gryffindors got the first prize. Everyone then got dismissed and we all spiritedly went back to our Common Room, where everyone just hung out. Ron proudly showed everyone his no-lessons pass, while Harry and Neville happily discussed what they were going to do in that lesson-free time. Fred and George were distributing sweets and chocolates from Honeydukes to the crowd in celebration of their own winnings.

About an hour later, most of the Gryffindors had gone to bed and only a few were left in the Common Room. The trio, Ginny, Neville, Seamus, Dean and I were sitting at the fireplace, discussing the night's events. At last, someone brought up a much anticipated subject.

"Did anyone of you see Malfoy at the Ball? He wasn't there although Crabbe and Goyle were. And it's quite odd since he usually takes these kinds of opportunities to show off." Ginny said. Everyone frowned and shook their heads. _No one_ saw Draco?

"But I saw him buying a costume at Gladrag's with Zabini! He bought the costume pretty fast - didn't even try it on." Ron added.

"He was muttering something to the shop owner, I wasn't close enough to hear what he was saying but he did look quite suspicious." Hermione continued, scrunching up her face as if trying to remember something.

"But he did buy a costume, so that means he's got to have gone to the Ball, doesn't it?" Harry asked. We looked at one another for answers but when no one had any, we let it go. Draco was probably sick or something, no other reason he should miss such a big event.

o0o

Monday soon came, once again, and we had to go back to class. Well, everyone except Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Gred, Forge, Pansy Parkinson and Blaise. I went to the Great Hall alone for breakfast and I really wasn't in a good mood (it was just one of those days, you know?). I sat at the end of the table, nearest to the door and took out my timetable.

"First lesson…ugh, potions with Slytherins." I mumbled to myself, scanning the day's timetable. I nibbled on a piece of bread before putting it back onto my plate. Not hungry, I suppose, no point forcing myself. I peered over to the Slytherin table and saw Draco talking to Crabbe and Goyle. He looked perfectly healthy to me, it didn't seem like he was sick at all. But if that's the case, where _was _he during the night of the Halloween Ball?

The flapping of wings disturbed my thoughts as the owl post came. From afar, I noticed an owl making its way to where I was seating, and it was carrying one huge package. It dropped the package in front of me and started to take a drink from my goblet.

"Looks like a broomstick!" Parvati squealed loudly from where she sat. Darn her. Several heads turned towards me in curiosity, muttering to one another. Great, just what I need, people staring at me. I grabbed my package and swiftly walked out of the Great Hall to the Common Room. Why do people have to annoy me when I'm in the worst of moods?

Once in the empty Common Room, I sat on the floor and put the package on the table. I carefully undid the packaging and let out a gasp when I realized what it was - A FIREBOLT. I jaw literally dropped and I quickly picked up the note that came with the broomstick.

_Happy belated birthday.  
__-M_

I frowned as I read the few words. Who the heck is M? Mother? It can't be my mum though, since she's practically from another dimension. But who in their right mind would send me such a priceless gift? And how did they know my birthday?! I rubbed my temple as all these questions circled in my mind.

Why does the magical world have to be so darn complicated and 'mysterious'? Another question! Okay, I'm going to stop now. I snuck back into my dormitory, careful not to wake Hermione up and hid the Firebolt underneath my bed. With nothing else to do, I went to the dungeons and waited for Potions to start, still thinking about who sent me the Firebolt.

o0o

"Mr Malfoy, you will be paired with Haynes, and Miss Brown, you will join Mr Crabbe's and Finnigan's group. The potion we will be making today is beyond most of your abilities, but I expect nothing less than satisfactory. Instructions on the board, you have an hour and a half to complete this potion." Snape said, before everyone quickly started on their potion. I took in a deep breath as I heard Draco get up and move up to the seat beside me. We worked in silence, barely talking except when giving instructions to the other. But I couldn't take it the quiet anymore.

"Did you go for the Halloween Ball?" I whispered to Draco while stirring the potion slowly. His lips curled up slightly and he nodded, not looking at me. I glanced at him, furrowing my eyebrows. "As what? I didn't see you anywhere, and apparently, neither did anyone else." His lips curled even more at this statement.

"What's the point of a Masquerade Ball if everyone knows who you are?" He murmured, lips barely moving, as he chopped the liver into pieces. I stopped stirring the potion and stared at him. "But I know about you. Blaise told me you went off with some Slytherin guy after dancing with him." he continued, dumping the chopped liver into the cauldron, causing the potion inside to sizzle and turn a bright orange. I opened my mouth to reply him, but closed it again, not sure of what to say. "Don't get led on by him, he has that kind of effect on girls." Draco said, still ignoring my stares.

"What effect?" I asked. I knew what 'effect' he was talking about, of course – all the heart thumping and _feelings_.

"You know what it is, so don't ask." Draco replied, sitting down, before changing the subject. "Potion's done, wait for it to simmer." Darn it, he hasn't looked at me at all for the past hour! I huffed, took a seat and continued to stare at him, intuitively scanning every detail of his body.

His platinum-blonde hair was different from the movies, it was shorter and spiked up at different areas (like an out-of-bed look). His eyes were grey, almost silver, in colour and his eyelids drooped a bit, probably because he was feeling bored. The sides of his mouth curled down slightly and his lips were a pale colour, just like the rest of his flawless skin. He sat slouched on the chair, arms crossed in front of him. His uniform was worn neatly, but yet messily at the same time (I have no idea how that can be achieved). His legs were spread wide apart, feet tapping lightly on the stone floor. He definitely didn't look like the childish person whom I had a water fight with in detention. I looked up at his face again and jumped when I noticed he was staring right at me. I quickly turned to look at something else, feeling my face burning.

Fifteen minutes later, Snape stopped everyone from working and told us to give him a sample of our potions. For homework, we had to work on an essay on the causes and effects of the potion we just made with our partner. I cursed Snape. How does he expect me to be with Draco Malfoy for prolonged periods of time? Doesn't he realize that Gryffindors don't go with Slytherins at all?

"Want to do the essay now? I'm having free period." Draco asked, still watching me. I checked my timetable (Sadly, I had free period too) and hesitantly agreed. So, we went to the library without another word.

o0o

Just when I thought the day couldn't get any worse, the minute I walked into the library, the Trio was there as well. Harry and Ron stared in disbelief as I walked past their table with Draco, and Hermione dropped her quill, scrambling out of sight. I followed Draco to the most isolated corner of the library and we sat down. It was really awkward. Really. Instead of me staring at him (like I did in Potions), it was now _him_ staring at me and _me_ looking away.

"So you don't have any idea who the guy you were with during the Ball is?" Draco asked out of the blue. I turned to look at him and frowned. What was it to him?

"It's not like it's any of your business," I replied, taking out my Potions textbook and scribbled my name on a piece of parchment.

"Is it?" He mumbled, flipping through his textbook. "Causes and effects, page 58 and 59. Just copy the first, second, third, fourth and sixth paragraph. And paraphrase them a bit." I followed his instructions and started copying the thousands of words on the page. What did he mean by 'Is it?', it's not like he has anything to do with the mystery guy.

"But there aren't any Slytherins who look like him, is there?" I asked, before Madam Pince, the librarian, appeared out of nowhere and glared.

"Not exactly, but-" Draco got cut off and Madam Pince hushed him from afar. He took another piece of parchment and scrawled something on it, passing it to me.

_But if you look at what you don't recognize about him, won't it be harder to figure out who the person is?_

Admittedly, he had a point. But half of the people in Hogwarts have brown hair, and I'm sure many of them have grey eyes as well. I dipped my quill in ink and replied Draco's message.

_So you know who I was with?_

_Maybe._

_Tell me?_

_You'll find out sooner or later._

_You're horrible. But I'll force it out of you when I beat you in the coming Quidditch match._

_Good luck then. Heard someone sent you a broomstick ,a Firebolt?_

_Yeah, don't know who it's from though. There wasn't any name in the card, it just said 'Happy Belated Birthday. -M'. You don't possibly know who it is, do you?_

_Probably not._

_Can't you give a definite answer for once?_

_Nope. Definite enough for you?_

_Way to be smart. And I know you weren't at the Ball on Halloween, don't try to lie._

_Is that all you think about? The Halloween Ball?_

_No, I also think about how obnoxious you have been towards Gryffindors. Tell me where you were during the Ball!_

_Touché. But as you said, 'it's not like it's any of your business.' If you insist on knowing, I was, in fact, with someone during that time. Don't ask me who._

_Fine, then answer this – why are you so nice to me, compared to the other Gryffindors?_

_Because I want to._

_Can you stop doing that?!_

_Doing what?_

_Giving me stupid answers which don't answer my questions at all!_

_I like giving stupid answers and you can't stop me from doing that. I'm nice to you because I want to. I think that's quite an acceptable answer. What more do you want?_

_Like WHY you want to be nice to me? It's weird! And same goes with Zabini!_

_You're different from other people, I suppose. People see me just as a Malfoy when I want to be, you know, just Draco. Given my family's reputation, I won't exactly be well-liked by others other than Slytherins, will I? If people treat me like I'm just a rich, pure-blood-loving Malfoy, then I'll be like it towards them. But when you first met me, you weren't like that. You didn't look at me like I was an ass, or like royalty or something. So I treat you differently .You, and Blaise._

I read the paragraph at least three times and put my quill down. I never knew. When I think of it, it seemed obvious that someone like Draco Malfoy would feel that way, but it never ever crossed my mind. I glanced across the table and looked at him. After he told me how he felt, he didn't look as bad as he did before. He looked like an ordinary person. Not arrogant, not obnoxious, not great, not anything. Just a normal, decent wizard who felt like he should live up to everyone's expectations. Then, something crossed my mind.

Draco is going to become a Death Eater in his sixth year.

My stomach jolted as I realized that. I knew what was going to happen in the future. I was the only one who knew. Fearing his family will be in danger, him following Voldemort's orders, not being to kill Dumbledore, the war, all the deaths… Should I stop all these things from happening? I was the only one who can. But should I?

"Alright there?" Draco's asked, staring at me (almost worriedly). I stared back at him, breathing deeply.I gulped.

"Sorry, I have to go." I replied, standing up and quickly stuffing all my things into my bag. "We'll do the assignment some other time, I have to go now, sorry." I took a last glance at his confused face and ran out of the library, ignoring the Trio as I passed them.

I needed to see Dumbledore.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter! School has already started and I'm already bombarded with homework and projects. :\ The only time I have to write is when I'm completely free, which is rare. The quality of the chapters, to me, is getting kind of sucky too. Anyhow, please review! (: It will motivate me to write faster and better! :D


	7. Let Me Get This Straight

Disclaimer: Whatever you recognize, I do not own. (:

* * *

My 18th Birthday

_By boobookeys_

**Chapter 7: Let Me Get This Straight**

* * *

"_Sorry, I have to go." I replied, standing up and quickly stuffing all my things into my bag. "We'll do the assignment some other time, I have to go now, sorry." I took a last glance at his confused face and ran out of the library, ignoring the Trio as I passed them._

_I needed to see Dumbledore. _

_o0o_

I dashed all the way to the familiar gargoyle and swore out loud when I realized I needed a password. How could I forget? Okay, so I just needed to say the names of all the sweets that I know and hopefully, one of them would be the password.

"Acid pops? Chocolate Frogs? Cockroach Clusters! Fizzing Whizbees. Ice Mice! Fudge Flies! Sugar Quills! Pepper Imps!?" I said all in one breath. Still, the gargoyle didn't move. I let out a sound of irritation and swore once again.

"Why can't he just make the password simple, like CHOCOLATE?!" I said (loudly) to myself. To my surprise, the gargoyle started moving. The password is _chocolate_? I shook my head to concentrate on the current situation and went up to Dumbledore's office as fast as I could, stopping myself from bursting through his door. I opened the door slowly and poked my head in.

"Professor?" I called out, scanning the room for the man and finally spotted him at a corner, chatting with one of the portraits. He turned to look at me through his half-moon spectacles and motioned me to go over.

"Ah, Alesha, I doubt you know Mr Phineas Nigellus Black, former headmaster of Hogwarts?" He asked, as I walked towards him. I stared at the portrait and gave it a look of disapproval. Phineas Black - he wasn't exactly the most helpful portrait in the books, was he?

"Albus, I don't even think teenagers nowadays care about history! They're too self-absorbed nowadays, _self-absorbed_. And tedious! Yes, they are very, very dull, yes." Phineas Black shouted across to Dumbledore, acting like I wasn't even there at all. "Well, I shall not stick around! I will visit my other portrait and see how everything is going at the other side." And with that, he walked right out of frame. Other portrait? He must be talking about the one at Grimmauld Place…

"What did you want to see me about, Alesha? I supposed it's important?" Dumbledore asked like there wasn't a care in the world. I nodded.

"I wanted to talk to you about…uh, where I came from and what I know." I replied, eyeing Dumbledore, waiting for his answer. He gestured me to go on, taking a seat and conjuring one for me.

"Well, where I came from, you know, this whole Hogwarts thing? It's not real." I said nervously, afraid of what the headmaster's reaction will be. When he didn't say anything, I continued. "It is part of this novel written by this woman called J.K. Rowling and she has actually already written everything that happens from Harry's first year to his seventh year, and a part of his future as well. Harry's the main character and from what I found out about Harry when I came here, the book is extremely accurate."

"And there are some things that…I think could, or should be changed, since I'm here and I know what's going to happen and all." I stopped and stared at Dumbledore. He smiled.

"I knew there was a reason you came," he told me. "However, I believe, due to your appearance, some of these books' details are not as precise?" I nodded. "What are the things you wish to change, Alesha?" I paused and thought for a second.

"People's deaths." I replied vaguely, feeling (bad) butterflies in my stomach. Luckily, Dumbledore didn't ask for names, except for one.

"Alright then, now, it is most important we prevent as many of them from happening. So tell me, who's death is the most imminent?" Dumbledore asked, smile disappearing.

"Sirius Black."

o0o

I walked out of Dumbledore's office an hour later, partly happy and partly troubled. After telling him the names of all the people who are going to kick the bucket and about Voldemort's horcruxes, we spent the rest of the time discussing on how to change the future (without screwing up everything, of course). He was oddly unsurprised when I told him that Snape was going to be the cause of his death. "Everyone has their time," he said.

He told me I was excused from classes (whoopee!), but the reason was that I should concentrate more on the whole changing-the-future thing. My current task? Stop Harry from doing dumb things (like look for Sirius in the Department of Mysteries).

Free period was over and I was supposed to be in Divination fifteen minutes ago. I went back to the dormitory and put my bag away, changing into some denim shorts, a simple yellow tee and converse shoes. I pulled my hair back in a simple ponytail and looked in the mirror to see my overall look.

"Summer style, nice." I smiled, attempting to get my mood up. iPod in hand, I strolled out of the castle and to the lake, wiping beads of sweat as they appeared. The sun was in full force but there was a little wind in the air. The weather was good. I went over to the tree closest to the lake and laid under it, in the shade.

I plugged the earpieces into my ear and played Sara Bareilles' Love Song. It was a good song, really. I gazed at my iPod and sighed. It was probably one of the few things I had left that reminded me of…my world. It's hard to admit, but I was getting extremely homesick. I missed my home, my bed, my parents, my friends, my school and especially, cheerleading. I wouldn't be surprised if I have lost most of my cheer spirit. Life back there was so simple – go to school, attend class, have cheerleading practice, go home. But here, it is just too complicated. My eyes slowly closed and within minutes, I dozed off.

"Hey, are you dead?" I heard someone sitting beside me say, followed by a few pokes on my arm. I brushed the person's hand away and turned to my other side. "Wake up! That tree's infested with insects." I immediately sat up after hearing that, but lay back down once again when I saw who the person was.

"Don't you have anyone else to bother?" I mumbled, covering my eyes with the back of my hand (the sun was shining even brighter then). The Slytherin chuckled. I could feel his eyes on me, it was uncomfortable. Who did he think he was? Making me think I liked him and then going off to have fun with some other girl after that.

"Idiot." I mumbled, continuing my thoughts. I sat up and glared at the dark boy in front of me. "What do you want, Zabini?" I asked irritably. He frowned.

"No need to be so hostile, it's not like I did anything to you." He muttered, looking away. I clenched my fist and forced myself to stay calm. Boys. Sometimes I really hate them.

"I just came here to talk to you about something." Blaise said, searching for something in his bag. I sat up and put my iPod away, curious. He handed me a photograph and I took it from him. My eyes widened. It was a picture of me and that anonymous Slytherin guy in the Quidditch pitch on Halloween.

"What's this?" I croaked - something about this doesn't seem very good. Blaise took a deep breath and pointed to the guy in the photo.

"That's Draco." He responded. I stared at him, mouth opening slightly. My eyes darted back to the picture.

"And the big deal is?" I forced myself to say, heart pounding. I was sitting there the whole time with Draco Malfoy on Halloween and I had no idea.

"Apparently, someone took a picture of you and him like this during Halloween and now it's starting to circulate around the school. The person supposedly found out that Draco was, well, Draco and it's causing loads of trouble, more trouble at least, especially in Slytherin and Gryffindor." Blaise started to explain. "Draco has disappeared since he found out about it. Everyone was bothering him, so I wouldn't be too surprised. Don't know where he is now though. But if you ask me, you better get out of sight too before your housemates or any Slytherin murders you. You have around five minutes before lunch starts, so I suggest you get a move on." I took a moment to digest everything, and quickly got up.

"Thanks." I said gratefully, giving Blaise a hug (I really needed one). I ran all the way back into the castle and searched for a place to seek refuge in. My dormitory? No, no, no, Gryffindors are evil at the moment. I darted around aimlessly and ended up on the seventh floor. I walked around the floor three times in panic. There was no place in this school to hide! _I NEED A PLACE TO HIDE._

Right after I thought that, a door appeared on my right, opposite a tapestry showing Barnabas the Barmy. The Room of Requirement - of course! I mentally slapped myself on the forehead for being so forgetful and quickly entered the room, closing the door behind me. My body froze once I turned around. Oh gosh – Draco.

o0o

He was sprawled on a massive black velvet-covered bed, with an equally luxurious-looking blanket pulled over him. He was asleep.

His school robe, jumper and tie were thrown messily on the couch in front of the fireplace and his shoes were kicked off at the foot of the bed. I took off my shoes and walked soundlessly towards Draco. I smiled to myself. I realized that I always catch him in times when he looks calm and almost peaceful. It was a world of a difference when he was with others, where his eyes would be cold and his face expressionless. But now…he looks darn good-looking, I must say. Unable to refrain from the temptation, I stretched my hand out and touched his hair. I gasped when Draco swiftly grabbed my wrist.

"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus," Draco muttered, opening his eyes. "Never tickle a sleeping dragon." He pulled at my arm and I went off balance, falling onto the bed, on top of him. In one swift motion, he rolled on top of me and pinned my wrists at the sides of my head. I looked at him, stunned. His eyes flashed for a second before going back to its usual grey.

"What are you doing here?" he muttered, his face barely inches away. I opened my mouth and closed it several times, unable to speak. My wrists were burning at his touch, and I'm sure my face was as well. We were so _close_.

"H-Hiding?" I managed to whisper. I felt my lips going dry and took a lick at it. Draco growled, eyes flashing once again, and got off me, sitting at the side of the bed. I sat up and stared at his back.

"Why didn't you tell me? That you were the guy?" I asked, hoping the Slytherin would turn to look at me. Unfortunately, he didn't.

"What for? It was perfectly fine when you, and everyone else, didn't know." Draco answered, rubbing his temple. "Damn that Creevey. If he wasn't such a nosey asshole, this wouldn't have happened." Draco must have sensed that I had no idea what he was talking about, and began explaining.

"That night, when we were outside, you heard a clicking sound somewhere nearby, didn't you?" He said, facing me. I nodded. "That was bloody Creevey, taking pictures for the judges so that they could see who was going to win the Most Compatible Couple award thing. He and his brother then figured out that the guy you were with was actually me, and a couple of Slytherins overheard, causing all this…crap." I continued to look at him, unsure of what to say.

"My father's going to be furious." He continued, a tint of dread in his voice. Was his dad going to punish him just for being seen with a Gryffindor? Whack him? Cane him? Use the Cruciatus Curse? The last one seemed the most likely. Lucius Malfoy - even his name sounds menacing.

"But, it can't be that bad…can it?" I tried to comfort Draco, adding the last two words when he laughed, as if I just told him a joke.

"_Bad_ is an understatement. Fortunately I'm not going back for Christmas." He said, smiling at me. It was a tad strange to see Draco Malfoy smile like that. I bit…forced? "I think I shall skip classes for the next few days. You?" I smiled at the guy before me, and we continued chatting for the next few hours.

o0o

Staying in the Room of Requirement with Draco Malfoy wasn't as bad as I thought. After spending some time with him, I realized that he's just an ordinary guy, except that he's extremely rich, good-looking and very popular. He was also witty, cute, funny, and did I mention attractive? He wasn't exactly the most talkative person, but he did make a few comments here and there. We stayed in the Room of Requirement for almost a week, only sneaking out at night to go to the kitchens to grab some grub. The following Saturday, we decided to 'come out of the dark' and go back to our usual lives. Boy, there was some commotion going on.

"Where have you been?!" Ron and Harry scolded, when I walked into the Gryffindor common room that night. Everyone then started crowding around me, bombarding me with questions.

"Were you with Malfoy?"

"You stayed with that git the whole time?!"

"We were worried!"

"How are you going to catch up on a week of lessons?"

"Everyone was trying to look for you!"

"Did Malfoy do anything to you?"

"You've missed three Quidditch practices already!"

I slipped out of the crowd after a number of tries and darted up the stairs into my dormitory. I shut the door behind me, before throwing my arms up in surrender when I saw who was in the room. Hermione stood in front of me, arms crossed, tapping her foot lightly on the ground.

"What do you want to know?" I sighed, dumping myself on my bed.

"You like Malfoy, don't you, Alesha?" Hermione said, eyebrow rising. My heart leapt.

"Malfoy? Psft, yeah, right!" I laughed nervously. Gosh, I am the worst liar on earth. Hermione's eyebrows were raised so high I thought they were going to disappear into her hairline. "Fine. Yes, I do." Hermione squealed and jumped on my bed beside me.

"Since when? Tell me everything, I'm in the mood!" She prompted me.

"I don't know when it started! When I met him, I guess? I don't know, it's…complicated."

"Come on, 'Lesha. I know about you, you're not from here." Hermione said softly. What did she mean by that? "You know everything about us, and everyone else! You know things about Harry even Ron and I didn't know until he told us! I think that was one clue too many in hinting that you don't exactly come from here." I kept silent.

"I never thought it was possible but you almost seem like you're from a completely different world. Your story about how your parents have died and other things about you… I've heard you contradict them a few times. I don't know if anyone else have noticed, but I surely have. So, do you want to tell me anything?" I kept my mouth shut, not sure if I should tell Hermione everything. Would she tell anyone 

else? I really don't want anyone to know. But what harm can it cause? Having someone, other than Dumbledore, to get everything off my chest wasn't a bad thing.

"Okay, I'll tell you." I then tried to tell Hermione mostly everything about me, earning some gasps here and there.

"Sirius is going to…?" Hermione said, horrified, making a 'die' action at the end. "This year?" I nodded.

"You've got to help me keep a watch on Harry, alright? It'll be a bit weird if I'm always with him." I requested. Hermione agreed to help me, much to my delight and we went to bed after that.

o0o

"OHMYGOSHTHEQUIDDITCHMATCHISNEXTWEEK!" I exclaimed after realizing it, quickly sitting up from my sleeping position. I can't believe time has passed by so fast! It was the last week of October already and until now, I thought everything was going smoothly. I was lucky that it was History of Magic at that time, because everyone was either sleeping or dreaming and the teacher was well, dead.

"Well, yeah." Harry said from beside me. "It's kind of exciting, isn't it? The first Quidditch match of the year! Slytherin versus Gryffindor!" He continued, imitating Lee Jordon's commentary.

"You shouldn't have anything to worry about though, you got a Firebolt! Mum got me a Cleansweep Eleven this year 'cause Percy decided to become a git." Ron said.

"But I don't even know who gave me the Firebolt! What if it's jinxed or something?" I wondered out loud.

"Blimey, you're becoming more like Hermione, I tell you! What's wrong with Firebolts anyway? Everytime someone gets one, they think it's jinxed!" Ron started. "It's a bloody good broom, and I doubt anyone jinxed it. Except the Slytherins probably, but you got the Firebolt before _that time_." I sighed after hearing what Ron said. He made sense actually, it's no use brooding over who sent me the Firebolt. I've been using it for my Quidditch practices and nothing has gone wrong.

"And the bet you made with Malfoy and Zabini, everyone's making bets on who would win!" Harry told me. Shit, I completely forgot about that as well. Now that so many things have happened, I really don't want to do major damage to those two Slytherins. On the other hand, I don't want to become their slaves either.

"You better knock them off their brooms, _hard_. Tell them who's boss!" Ron continued, before a huff came from beside him.

"Could you three at least _try_ to listen? The O.W.Ls are drawing closer, you know!" Hermione whispered harshly, before turning to Professor Binns and continuing to scribble notes on her sixth piece of parchment.

"What's she talking about? O.W.Ls are 10 months away!" Ron said, crossing his arms on the table and attempted to go back to sleep.

An eternity later, class ended and everyone dragged their sleepy selves out of the classroom. The Trio and I went back to the Common Room and prepared to go for Quidditch practice. My nerves were getting the better of me and I couldn't help but feel more nervous about the upcoming match than usual.

Damn it, I don't want to hurt those two Slytherins!

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the super duper late update. ): School's killing me, and my brain's being destroyed. Chapters are getting shorter, but please review and I'll try to write the next chapter quickly! (: Thanks!


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